A "Badge of Honor"

This being a Mommy thing can be exhausting.  Most the time, I do a pretty good job just rolling with the punches...taking life as it comes...keeping a smile on and laughing when things get tough.  But, there is just something about when my kids are sick one right after the other that can get me kinda down...make me want to lock myself in the closet and cry for a bit.  Yesterday was one of those days.

I thought everyone was on the mend.  Then, in the afternoon, I hear more vomit hitting the floor.  Now, I was thankful it wasn't outside in the wind...but I don't know, it's kinda a toss up...on my carpet or outside blowing in the wind...think I will take the wind.  At least clean up for that only entails stripping down and throwing everything in the washing machine.  There's just something I hate about cleaning throw up off my carpet.  At least it wasn't my couch this time.  The guilty party: my princess.

This is the part in the story when I look up at the ceiling and begin to throw a pity party for myself...which at the time seemed pretty reasonable.  I saw, in my mind, what was to come...it meant clean up in hallway one scrubbing chuncks out of the carpet...it meant more puking where I was to try my hardest not to throw up myself while rubbing my princess' back and cleaning off her mouth.  It meant that there was possibly more to come.  My job was about to become a little harder and I was already tired.

And then in steps my middle man who is rough and tumble and wild...but deep down he is so sensitive and sweet...and loves his Momma.  He had taken a heart that I cut out for him and colored it.  He brought it to me and said that it was for me to wear on the front of my shirt because of how good I did taking care of him when he was sick and because he loves me so much.  And then, this is the part of the story where I packed up my pity party...and stopped my selfish thinking.  This is the part of the story where I stood up and let him tape my "badge of honor" on my shirt, while his stood back and admired how good it looked on me...and asked if he could take a picture...and I let him:

This job is a hard one...but the rewards are better than any bonus...and monetary reward (even though I could really go for some extra cash to fly me away to somewhere warmer right now).  I wore my heart until after dinner and then my middle man had the idea of taping it on my bedroom door...and that's exactly what I did.

My princess is fine this morning...she's on her fourth piece of toast as I type.  She a little famished after the night she had so if she wants to eat a whole loaf...hey, today it's fine by me.  And if anyone else gets sick around here, I think I will put my heart back on as a reminder.