When mommy gets sick; or preparing for a ‘market crash’

“… it’s like the stock market crashed!”

When mommy gets sick, “everything collapses. There’s chaos and panic everywhere. And for the first few days or until someone takes control, no one knows what’s going on“.

That’s what happened when I got seriously ill a few weeks ago. I couldn’t think, let alone function, but I still have a household to run. I didn’t want my daughter to stay with me at home because I was afraid she might catch the bug, but who do I leave her with for a few days? I couldn’t go to the hospital because I would have to bring the kid along (and going out in 20 degreeC weather, was not fun for either of us). Finally, swallowing my pride and feeling so much pain…

Well, let me just share what I learned from this “market slump”-

1. FIRST, protect your investment – YOU. You can’t be a good parent and be selfish. And how often is it that we put our family’s needs way ahead of our own. We exhaust our butts out feeding, cleaning, carpooling, gardening, teaching, cleaning (again and again), laundering, … (the list goes on) and on top of that most of us have a full time job. All the more necessary that moms need to be healthy. Eat right. Sleep well. Take time off. Take your vita. Go for routine checks. One of the big lessons I took from my own experience was that I need a plan for the next time this happens (because it will). Which brings me to…

2. Plan for “bear” days. Talk as a couple or involve your age-appropriate kids about what happened, and what you can all do to prepare in case mommy gets sick again. Have a plan so hubby knows what’s expected of him. Have a plan so the kids know to be sensible when mommy has the “boo-boos”. If you have older children who can take care of younger sibs, ask them for help as well. You’ll be surprised at their cooperation. After all, they love you; “you’re our mommy”.

3. Broker, ASAP. Don’t be afraid to ask bother your husband for assistance. Let him take a half day off for the kids, so you can go to the hospital. If he’s unavailable, find a friend, neighbor, church, relatives, or even a temp daycare/babysitter. And get treated ASAP. The longer you put it off because of (name your reason), the worse things are going to get.

4. Embrace the bear market rally. Receive that help with joy. Not with guilt. Not being critical. Not micromanaging. If a chore is sloppy, or your kids ate ice cream at grandmas, if the bills were paid late… smile. A little something is better than nothing.

5. Ride out the slump. You can live for a few weeks/days in a dirty house. And it’s just until you get better. Your children will not know any different. One mom said she gave her kids breakfast cereals for dinner, and they will love you for that too.

6. It will correct itself. This too shall pass.

Now, I realize other moms (or caregiver-dads) have had it worse that I had, like this mom who got the Norwalk virus, or the airforce wife who’s going it alone, or a parent with cancer- they survived. And so shall we.

(Part of b5media Science and Health Channel’s theme day: Emergency Preparedness. Our Homely Scientist Tris is hosting, so check him out for how other blogs are preparing for their types of emergencies .)

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Tags: moms, sick, ill, illness, virus, flu, influenza, colds, viral diseases, medicine, market, crash