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What I learned being sick

Last week, I got sick. The sickest I’ve been in a long time. The kind of sick where time seems to stop and the only thing you can do is move from the couch to the bathroom and back to the couch again.

Well, I am on the recovering end now and feeling a bit more like me (though a still somewhat exhausted version). And, inspired by Lauren (who put up a list of observations about being pregnant and raising an 11 month old), I jotted down a list of things I’ve learned over the last seven days:

1. Wow, I really do do a lot of work around here. After years of working as an editor and regularly seeing the fruits of my labor, as a stay-at-home mom I've often wondered just what it is I do with my day. Now I know. There isn’t an inch of kitchen counter space left. Seriously, it's got several layers of dirty dishes, papers, medicines and who-knows-what piled on it. Laundry baskets are not only full, but overflowing onto bedroom floors (and into the hallway and down the stairs). The refrigerator smells. Bad. The floors are minefields of clothes, papers, shoes, gloves, coats, Legos, books, empty soda boxes and piles of various other items. I’m actually scared to venture off the paths forged through it all. My daughter lost her homework in her room. I’m not kidding. And there’s no toilet paper in one bathroom. I wonder where the phone is?

2. Those tissues with lotion in them really do make a difference.

3. What did I do when I had babies and toddlers and got sick like this?! Seriously, I can’t remember. Maybe I blocked it out. Like labor.

4. My 10-year-old daughter and five-year-old son are really good at entertaining themselves and each other--and taking care of their mom. I love those two.

5. We need a new couch. Or new cushions, at the very least.

6. In spite of having 200 plus channels on cable, there isn’t much on at 2:30 in the morning. Or 3:30 a.m. Or 4:00 a.m.

7. Some meds really work. Like ibuprofen, Mucinex, antibiotics and prescription cough meds.

8. And some don’t. Like that spray that’s supposed to numb your throat but really only numbs your taste buds even if you put a spoon over your tongue while you spray it. Like I didn't already have a hard time tasting things. And those over-the-counter cough meds, I have a sneeking suspicion that they made me cough even harder.

9. I am blessed. A friend who lives a few houses down checked up on me regularly. My husband helped where he could even though he himself was recovering from the crud, had an out of town business trip and was working long hours. My kids were (mostly) little angels. And my health is returning. I missed being healthy. A lot.

10. And I’m really grateful that I’m not pregnant while taking care of an 11-month old. I’ll take being sick over that any day of the week.

Now, you must excuse me while I muster what strength I've regained to clear some counter space. Heh, maybe I'll find the phone.

(Image: made with fd's flickr toys)