There were some things that I was prepared for when I became a parent. I was prepared for sleepless nights, a mountain of laundry and an increase to the grocery bill. I wasn't prepared for two things: illness and loneliness.
I'm going to preface this entry with a warning: It has not been a great winter and it's beginning to take a toll on Chris and I both. I have been really blue the past week and have felt very alienated from a lot of people who I was close to before we had the kids. This is a cross that I imagine many people who are the first to have kids bear and it's a fact of life as we all age and change.*
Saturday was a rare occasion. We were invited to an event where our children were not only included, they were welcomed. The timing didn't interfere with the nap schedule so we could actually bring the minions out with limited fear of entering Meltdown City - Population 2 angry toddlers, 2 frustrated parents.
I had picked a dress that we'd received as a gift for Molly ages ago, that she is on the verge of outgrowing, to wear out to the co-ed cocktail(ish) baby shower. When the minions woke up from their afternoon nap a little bit late, Chris was skeptical and I was in denial. With make-up on and almost ready to head out the door, we took their temperatures and determined that they both had fevers bordering around 101 degrees.
Disappointingly I took off my party shoes and texted the host that we couldn't go. There were too many other pregnant guests for me to risk us being the jerks who infected everyone with a double dose of toddler germs. I contacted my friend who we were supposed to visit later that night to see if she wanted to risk inviting the plague pair into her home. She knew how much having some semblance of a social life meant to us and welcomed us into her home with open arms. I've created a greeting card below that summarizes the conclusion of our evening when Jack's coughing fit brought on the following:
Thank you for not freaking out when our son vomited on your couch....
I don't know why people don't invite us out more often.
The next day I had a complete meltdown about our lives, how hard we work, how broke we are, how little time we have for each other, how lonely parenting can be, how few people I have to talk about it with and how many things we have to cancel because of illness. My mom caught the tail end of it when she called to see how the kids were doing. She was patient and then reminded me about the trip to Hawaii she missed because I had the measles - Mom induced Humble Pie Smackdown - the one-upance edition.***
Yesterday night I went out to a music lesson for half an hour....I came home to Molly standing in the hallway in nothing but a diaper and Chris frantically scrubbing everything in the living room down. "Molly just projectile vomited almond milk all over ALL OF OUR REMOTE CONTROLS!" Clearly it was bath time.
Thankfully we purchased another two sets of crib sheets from IKEA this weekend, because the six sets of sheets we owned just wasn't enough - seriously. Our remotes are still working, even though they're leaking water from the purification process Chris felt they had to undergo.
I know in my heart that we have friends and family who love us and our children dearly...in sleepless fortnights, like we're living right now, it's hard not to feel like you're trapped on baby island without a raft...a special thanks to those who help us out by letting our sick son drool on your shoulder while you rock him to sleep or pretending not to be grossed out when our snot laden daughter gives you a hug.
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*Okay, I'm done with the "woe is me" speech, and I assure you I will be having cheese with my wine tonight.....Lots of tasty cheese.
**Foolishly.
***Suddenly a few cancelled plans and an unworn outgrown party dress didn't seem so earth shattering, Aloha!
