first sick day

A couple of days ago Ben finally succumbed to his first real cold. He got the sniffles a couple of months ago, but this was the first big one. He was up all night coughing, and in the morning he was all stuffy with snot dripping down to his chin. Poor little peanut. So at 3:30 am on Wednesday, I called in sick. A sick baby is not a fun baby. I felt so bad for him...he was just looking at me with those sad, watery eyes begging me to make him feel better. And all I could do was suck to boogers out of his nose and snuggle him closer. I hadn't gotten any sleep the night before, and since he couldn't breathe very well, his naps were fitful and I didn't get any sleep during the day, either. I was so exhausted and just SPENT. But in the midst of the exhaustion and the fits of coughing and screaming, I felt a strange sense of peace and joy. Because for one day, I didn't have to wear 18 hats. For one day, I could just be a mom. I'm still recovering from the lack of sleep and the constant care-giving. But for one day, there were no twelve year olds, no papers to grade (well, there were--but I completely ignored them), and nowhere to be. I could just cuddle up on my couch with my buddy, both of us in our jammies, and just be.

Ben is recovering quickly. He still woke up coughing a few times last night, but he fell back asleep fairly quickly. I'm praying for a good night's sleep for all of us tonight. And tomorrow's Friday, which means in less than 24 hours I can go back to just being a mom and being with my sweet boy.