There are few things that suck more than having a sick kid. This is a fact.

F was a little under the weather last week, so I wasn’t totally shocked when he woke up on Saturday morning absolutely full of a cold. At 6:30 am. He is a (super effing cute) nightmare when he has a stuffy nose. Aren’t we all?

By mid-afternoon the sniffle monster was starting to get stabby. I hate this, I hate that, I hate you kind of stabby. Not fun. So not fun, in fact, that I resorted to hiding in the bathtub for an hour (this required not one, not two but three refills of hot water).  When I emerged, all prune-y and waterlogged, F was laying on the couch with a blanket, Ellie the elephant stuffy and his water bottle. And man, was he feverish.

From late Saturday afternoon right through until last night at bedtime, F was burning up. I fed him Fudgsicles, Popsicles, grapes and a banana. I pleaded with him to eat and drink. Sometimes he growled at me. A few times, he swung at me, frustrated because he felt miserable and angry because his crazy mother was trying to make him drink more water. Mostly he just whined. Whiny children are the worst kind of children. This, too, is a fact.

A friend (and former student) came over to watch F for two hours while I ran out to meet my new colleagues and over beer and laughs, I realized that hanging out with a cranky, sniffle-y, cough-y kid is approximately the most draining activity in the world.

When they’re finally asleep, you can’t settle because you’re listening to them breathing and gently touching them to make sure their temperature hasn’t risen since that last Tylenol dose.

When they’re awake, you’re tending their needs and trying to navigate the inevitable sick-meltdowns that occur after every sneeze or coughing fit.

As a working, single parent I spent a great deal of my weekend wondering if I was going to be able to get him well enough for preschool today. I wasn’t. So I’ll spend today working from home, even though I’m using up a sick day to help him recuperate. I’ll worry about all the work that I’m not able to get done (and we all know how tiring worry can be) and I’ll worry about whether or not he’s going to be able to go back to school tomorrow.

Since we’re off our regular routine today, I’m feeling a little frazzled and it’s only 10 am. Perhaps I’ll make the most of it by asking for some boxes at the pharmacy or grocery store and get a jump on my packing?

Or perhaps I’ll enjoy an extra day of snuggling with my little sniffle monster.