Summer is in full-swing at my house. And with it… the new variety of germs that seem to come every year, as the weather gets warm and my children suddenly decide it’s ok to share everyone’s everything, anywhere they happen to be.
These past 2 weeks have been a brutal cycle of sick…on the mend…feeling great and ready to party, just as a sibling (I have 3 children) starts the cycle all over again. Thus the next kid is sick and needs to be tended to while the previous is hysterical….not because she doesn’t feel well, but rather bucause she is feeling SO well and wants to go out and play but can’t because Mom is stuck tending to her sick sibling.
Admittedly one of my 3 is FAR worse about not being able to get on with her regularly scheduled Summer-fun programming, than the other 2. And for that reason…I’ve enrolled her in Theatre camp. One way or another, SOMETHING good is going to come from me having to listen to the whining and so I am going to channel her dramatics into this program, with the hope of being mentioned in her Academy Award acceptance speech someday.
Anyhoo….last week was the stomach virus. I won’t go into too much detail except to say my cat, Julius, won’t ever be the same. Nor will he ever sleep on the floor, just below the top bunk.
This week….Strep throat and Pink Eye…Pink EYES to be exact.
Here’s the rundown for those keeping score:
- My Drama Queen had both the stomach virus AND strep throat
- My Son had only the stomach virus and a severe cold
- My baby had the stomach virus and Pink Eyes
***I feel the need to mention that the baby laughed her way through her bout with the stomach virus. I’m guessing it had more to do with the fact that I relocated a few of her favorite toys to the bathroom where we camped out over night (It just made cleanup easier)
Antibiotics have been administered and eye drops have been dropped….though I have to say, trying to give a baby eye drops is something akin to target practice from the Moon. And I also have to say that thanks to the anitbiotic, I didn’t have to go to the gym one time during this whole episode b/c chasing my kids through the house, dispenser in hand, trumped anything I was going to do on a treadmill.
With all that being said….you’re no doubt wondering, “What does any of this have to do with work?”
Well I’ll tell you. Not a darn thing. While in the midst of any of this stuff, you can’t get anything else done. Nothing. Despite best intentions and bester efforts. (Yeah I said it…bester)
Again, I’m lucky…EXTRAORDINARILY lucky….The kind of lucky that wins the lottery (though hasn’t!!!!!! ) to be able to work from home and more importantly, that I report to someone who understands the need to get things taken care of at home while trusting that I will find a way (AND I DID!) to get my work done.
Here’s the thing…when the kids get sick, and we know they do, there is nothing else that can (or should) be done before making sure your children get well. Companies that pressure employees to cut corners with regard to their own healthcare or that of their children, are in the end going to lose good employees. But in my book….I’d rather be a good parent.
I’m a firm believer that good parents make GREAT employees and I value working for a company that feels the same.
With love and heavy doses of Vitamin C,
The WM
