Only a mother...(warning: those with weak stomachs should read at own risk)

After two weeks of various sicknesses, we are finally well. We missed two weeks of AWANAs, various music lessons, art classes, science classes, and church. Only a mother knows what happens when four children are confined to the same four walls for two weeks with varying degrees of sickness/wellness (at times competing for the "sickest" title) and a mom who could really use a sick day herself. Throw in the fact that it's late February and you can safely add "cabin fever" to the list of ailments! LOSS of PERSPECTIVE is what happens....to the mother, anyway. Over the weekend I thought we were pretty much in the clear. I was confident of this until I was standing in the check-out lane at Target on Sunday afternoon with Joe and Pete. Pete was laying down in the big part of the cart, Joe was standing by the tabloids being exposed to who knows what kind of damaging smut. I was waiting to put my items onto the checkout, and I heard Peter cough rather strangely. I look down to see him vomiting. Again. And again. Oh. Dear. My child just puked in the check-out line at Target. At this point I wasn't sure if the MAN in front of me or the SEVENTEEN year old clerk saw Peter throw up. However, when Joe blurted out, "Man, that puke really STINKS!", I'm pretty sure they figured out what happened. Fortunately, Pete had been sort of laying on his side, so all of the vomit was sort of on the inside of his unzipped coat. There was literally none outside the coat. AND all the items I was purchasing were in the "seat" part of the cart....safe from the catastrope. So in my mind I'm frantically weighing the options (while hissing at Joe to stop carrying on about the stink), and I decide that it would be futile to try to clean him up right there. Besides, we were next in line, and I had a stack of really great coupons I had made this specific trip to the store to use. So I zipped up the coat - sealing all the vomit inside, went ahead and paid for all of my items (and saved $15 in coupons, yessirree), ignored the seventeen-year-old's look of utter disgust, and got outta there. I mean really, what was I supposed to do - take him in the bathroom at Target and start scraping vomit out of his coat, shirt, and undershirt with one-ply toilet paper? I don't think so. I mean, any mom would have done the same thing, right? Right? Anyway, we got him home and into the tub and all was fine. And I don't know what made him sick, but whatever it was did not travel to the rest of the family (thankyouthankyouthankyou). So today is Wednesday...it was sunny today and warm enough to go to the park. The kids were in great spirits, and we got a little taste of spring. As thankful I am that our bout with colds, influenza, and the stomach flu seems to be over, I have to say that the one part I really didn't mind about the last two weeks is the excuse to snuggle with my kids pretty much 24/7. And having them lay their head down on my lap and fall asleep. And serving cozy little comforting meals with 7-up on trays.

It's a tough job, being a mother...but somebody's got to do it. And I wouldn't trade it for the world.