Last night, my throat hurt enough that I called in sick for work.

My alarm went off as usual at six a.m., but I immediately turned it off, went to the bathroom, took two more Advil, and drifted back to sleep.  Around seven a.m., I continued to lie in bed reading while my husband and kids went through their frantic morning rituals. 

Walker could not find his current event report.  Reese chastised Elena for opening a new box of cereal while there were still three open boxes.  Reese came in and asked if I wanted to eat breakfast, which was really code word for getting up and helping him.  I declined, saying I wanted to rest.

After an hour, everybody left.  I had the house to myself!!! 

I recalled the joy of staying home sick when I was a kid.  My mother would be extra attentive, and sometimes give me Pepsi, especially if I had been throwing up.  Mom let me watch as much television as I wanted, and I didn’t have to fight my siblings for the remote.

I made myself some Krusteaz French Toast and coffee, and sat in front of the television.  The living room looked odd.  I rarely was around when it was bathed in mid-morning light.

On Channel Two was “Maury Povitch.”  He looked a lot older than the last time I saw him.  He interviewed an overweight teen mom who admitted that her boyfriend might not be the father of her son.  The boyfriend seemed angrier about their personal business being revealed on national television than his lost paternity. I agreed with him. 

I found a game show, “Trivial Pursuit.”  Half the contestants were TV judges.  The host complimented one female judge for a recent Emmy, in the new TV judge category.  Who knew there were so many of them?

After fifteen minutes of viewing, I realized I was not sick or young enough to watch mid- day television.  I decided I might as well check my work e-mail.

After I responded to five e-mails, I decided that I might as well update my homework Web page.  Then I wrote a unit test and couple of worksheets.  As I was working, I noticed that my son’s turtle’s tank had an ominous smell, palpable even through my stuffy nose.  I siphoned out all the water from the ten-gallon tank, and refilled it with de-chlorinated water.

I looked at the clock. Only two more hours until I had to pick up the kids.  I should be taking a nap, I thought.  Instead, I remembered that my daughter’s brownie troupe was visiting an old people’s home tomorrow and that we had signed up to bring a dozen homemade cookies.

I made the cookies and cleaned the rabbit hutch. I went to pick up Walker and Elena from school.  Since I felt a little out of it driving, I drove straight home.  The kids started on their homework.  As usual, Elena needed lots of help with her math.  While I was assisting her, Walker tried to make a crossword puzzle with his spelling words.  He became frustrated and tore it up.  I helped him do it again.

By the time my kids finished their homework, it was time to start dinner.  My sick day ended up being more of an at-home workday, but at least I wasn’t up until midnight making cookies. 

By Beth Touchette-Laughlin 

Labels: Beth Touchette-Laughlin, sick mom

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# posted by Writing Mamas Salon @ 12:01 AM