One of the perks of working in an educational setting are the extended holiday breaks that come at Christmas, Spring Break, and Easter. After a brunch last Friday at work with my colleagues, my principal wished us a Merry Christmas and sent us on our way. I jetted off to Trader Joe’s to start knocking out holiday shopping and closed out the afternoon with a long run soaking in the perfect outdoor conditions- sunny skies, cool temperatures, and the taste of freedom on my tongue.
As I ran, I envisioned how I would spend the first few days of my break. Liam would be in school through Thursday and Atticus would go to daycare so that I could finish Christmas shopping, wrapping, packing, and carve out a little time for me. I decided that if I could have everything complete by Wednesday morning then I could enjoy some quiet time getting a massage, a pedicure, and maybe even have time for lunch with a few girlfriends I rarely have time to see. Because quiet moments are few and far between these days, I was very much looking forward to taking a brief pause from motherhood and gifting myself with some quality time for self-reflection, relaxation, and personal growth.
Sunday morning, however, when my sweet little Atticus woke up, I realized rather quickly that “mommy time” was going to be a thing of the past. His sweet little face was bright red and he had bumps all over his face and body. A mother’s intuition and a quick Google search confirmed that he most likely had hand, foot, and mouth disease. Ahh, yes one of the many downsides of daycare- a breeding ground for all things germ related to pass freely from one child to the other. I faced the music that my pedicure, massage, and social plans were undoubtedly on the back burner at least for the next few days.
Although nothing can be done to treat hand, foot, and mouth, I knew a trip to the doctor’s office was necessary to at least confirm my rising suspicions. So after Atticus woke up from his afternoon nap on Sunday, the two of us set out for the Texas Children’s Urgent Care Clinic. I wasn’t prepared for the number of other sick children in the greater Cypress area waiting to be seen. With the patience of Job, I waited it out for 2 1/2 hours until finally by the grace of God we were seen by the doctor. “Wham, bam, thank you, m’am” she confirmed he did indeed have hand, foot, and mouth disease.
So for the next three days, Atticus and I mostly stayed home. Rather than wallow in self-pity, I took my lemons and made some damn good lemonade. When Atticus was awake, we played, read books, laughed, and enjoyed some quality time together. When nap time hit, I wrapped presents as I enjoyed Christmas movies and coffee as I worked like a little elf in Santa’s workshop. Because he still naps twice a day, I capitalized on this time to wrap all of my gifts and those from Santa for the boys, bake two batches of cookies (almond chocolate chip and gingersnaps) for Liam and Atticus’s teachers, prep for two great dinners (chicken noodle casserole and red beans and rice with sausage and cornbread), and knock out laundry list of to do’s including laundry and general house tidying.
Now granted this isn’t how I’d envisioned my first few days of my break, but oftentimes “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”. After all, life cannot be scripted no matter how hard we try. Atticus is undoubtedly on the mend, which is more important to me than “me” time will ever be. My Christmas break, while different from how I imagined it would start, still is off to a beautiful beginning. I’m enjoying the merriment of hot cocoa, Hallmark Christmas movies, and quality time with the boys.
Liam will be on break starting tomorrow and the four of us will drive down to South Texas to celebrate Christmas with my extended family. I’m looking forward to all that comes in this holiday season- the parts that are planned and the ones that accidentally fall in my lap.
This will likely be my last post until after Christmas. I want to relish in every little part of it and look forward to sharing more with you after the 26th. It has been a wonderful 6 months of blogging and sharing my life with you since this idea to start a blog first originated in July. I look forward to putting pen to paper with new ideas and blog posts in 2018.
Wishing each of you a blessed Christmas, peace on earth, and joy to the world,
A Mama Bear
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