It all started on Wednesday night. After a long day at the zoo and running errands, then feeding the kids supper and heading out the door to Awana, my legs were aching like nobody’s business. I just attributed it to the activities of the day. But when I woke up on Thursday morning, I felt like I’d run a marathon and lifted too-heavy weights at the gym. Every joint and muscle ached and my head pounded. Hubby was working at the office that day, so off he went and I tried to wrap my head around what we needed to do for the day.

As a homeschooling, stay-at-home mom, getting sick is one of my worst nightmares. Thankfully in the past, I have only gotten sick once a year (aside from my pregnancies, which are an entirely different matter all together!), and I am usually able to kick it in 24 hours. This time however, it was not to be so. As I write this, on the 4th day, I have come down with and broken a fever twice, my throat is raw from coughing and my chest tighter than a screw. And the only thing keeping me from passing out from the pounding in my head is the ibuprofen I took last night. If you know me, I am not a fan of giving or taking medication for a fever, cold or flu. But I’ve had to make an exception this time :0) Oh, and to top it off? Our oldest, came down with a fever this morning. When it rains it pours!

So what happens in a homeschool household when mommy gets sick? First, we call in reinforcements:

We’ve had 2 school days almost completely written off, except for these Costco gems! Our local education stores have these same books, but for a good $5-$10 more than Costco’s price! The boys are relatively independent in doing these, just some instruction needs to be given at the on set.

(Side note – According to the boys, I sound like daddy, as my voice is almost entirely gone and quite raspy. Thus I couldn’t even really read to them.)

More important than getting the school done was that I get the rest I needed to kick the ol’ influenza rapidly.

Since my energy level has been next to nothing, we’ve had our favourite lunchtime meal twice in the last couple of days – President’s Choice White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese! Available mostly in Canada, unless you live in Iowa, Illinois or Indiana near a Jewel-Osco Supermarket.

Right around the corner from our house we have an Asian supermarket at it’s finest (don’t even bother with T&T, they have issues :p). Aside from every assortment of Asian delicacy you could dream up, they also have lots of this:

If we know the Chinese to be good at only one thing, it’s their teas. And this is the queen of all of them. I’ve been drinking this multiple times daily with honey and it’s the only thing that has been soothing for my cough.

Some chores do still get done – but only those that are necessary, such as the end-of-day cleanup and DEFINITELY wiping down the door knobs and surfaces. Fortunately, aside from some prompting and keeping the timer running, the boys and Keekers are fairly good at completing the job. I DID, however, leave the dishes and the floor for my hubby when he came home – I think he thought we’d had farm animals over for lunch, it was such a mess!

Finally, thanks to my husband having a flexible schedule, he was able to get home earlier on Friday, and yesterday I was able to spend most of the day doing this:

Lots of fluids, ibuprofen, messaging people for prayer :D writing this post, reading my bible and imploring the Lord for healing, and of course, rest. Honestly, God has some of the most creative ways of getting our attention and I really do believe that His message to me in this sickness is:
1) I AM IN CONTROL
2) Quit trying to do so much
3) For I know the plans I have for you…. and right now, you’ve got too much going on and you need to reprioritize

So in a way, I am thankful for the opportunity these past few days to rest, pray, spend time in the word, and instead of pushing the school schedule and clean up, we were able to enjoy each other’s company and just have some fun.

If and when you get sick, do not despair! Throw out the schedule, enlist whatever help you can get, take as much rest as you can, have some fun with your kids, rest, but most of all, seek the Lord for His purposes.

Praying and hoping for a healthier week ahead!