I was a smug mom.
I was not smug about breastfeeding vs bottle feeding or crib sleeping vs. co-sleeping. Nope. I was a smug mom when it came to our family during sick season. For the first six years as a family, there were three of us: my husband, our daughter, and me. A lot of my friends, though, had three kids in quick succession. And I remember that during the winter months, getting together with those friends was nearly impossible.
We’d make plans.
And then I’d get a text that read something like, “Hey, Emily! I can’t get together tonight. Oliver has a fever,” or “Emily! I’m so sorry. Felicity started throwing up last night. I need to reschedule.”
So we would reschedule.
And then sometimes have to reschedule again.
My friend, Allison, who lives in North Carolina, would talk about having to leave work early to pick up one of her three children who was ill. As I listened to her talk about how hard it was, I would also be thinking, “How is one of her kids always sick?” It was more curiosity than judgment. Because my family wasn’t constantly sick, I felt like we were doing some (unnamed) thing right. It felt like I had a secret to keeping our family healthy.
But I didn’t.
Fast forward to this past winter. There are now four of us, and this winter was brutal. Name an illness and we probably had it.
Norovirus? Been there. I came down with it the night before we were supposed to leave town to see family for Christmas.
An ear infection? Our youngest has had six of those paired with six different antibiotics, and she just got tubes placed in her ears last week.
The flu? Yep, our oldest daughter had a low-grade fever paired with lethargy and a lack of appetite for almost five days.
You can also throw in laryngitis since I lost my voice, had a cold, and had a sore throat. This winter knocked all smugness out of me.
Now, when a friend has to cancel our dinner plans or hear a coworker talk about how her family just can’t stay healthy, I have only sympathy.
I am no longer a smug mom.
