I was hoping to get a blog post up before this one, but with a stomach virus that hit our home, right after I just got over the flu, I’ve gotten behind. But that’s how it normally is.
This 24-hour stomach virus went on for about 4 days making its way through me, my husband and my kids. It started with the youngest, the next day- me, then Valentine’s day -3 other kids, followed by my husband and eldest daughter on the fourth day. I have been running 2 washers and dryers nonstop for over 5 days now. My house has been thoroughly cleaned and Clorox-ed and Lysol-ed down, but the laundry is almost endless. Especially when we add to the already piling up laundry before the virus hit, due to my being out from the flu.
When I was a younger mom, the sheer volume of vomit spewed out by my husband and kids would have left me in a tizzy. Let alone, the mess that was left in its wake. I would have been running around like a crazy woman, worried about the mess within my home. Worried about my kids, worried about the “germs”, worried about keeping up. I would have been freaking out and exhausted. AND Y’all- it was A LOT of vomit! Not all of it stayed in their bowls either. (Vomit doesn’t really bother me much, I am the vomit handler in the house, but the smell of all of that vomit can get to you after a while.)
However, now as a mom of five, my motto is “just keep moving”. I tell that to myself anytime I get overwhelmed. Just keep moving. I don’t have to rush, I don’t have to flip out about what ISN’T getting done, just keep moving. I may be behind, but there is always something that needs to be done and I’ll get to it- eventually. It may take me a week to get caught back up, but I will get there. No sense in freaking out about it. Just handle one problem at a time, because they will keep coming. I guarantee it. Such is life. Problems happen, tackle it one at a time. Do what you can.
I remember a time with only a couple kids when I felt so exhausted by it all. And usually, whenever there is a problem in our home, it’s followed by another and then another… all at once. One after the other and the reality is- is that it is normal. And unfortunately, when those things happened my first thought would be- “I can’t do this… How could I handle this with MORE kids…” but it gets so much easier.
In the end, it really wasn’t that big of a deal, I’ve done stomach viruses for quite a few years now, and I have a system. However, what was amazing, is the fact that my oldest daughter (who was the last to get sick) was extremely helpful with her siblings. She even got up in the middle of the night (a few times!) when I didn’t hear my oldest son get up to vomit, and she helped him clean up and get back to bed. He was extremely grateful. As was I. I actually got some sleep! And I didn’t know about it until the morning. Of course, that may be why she eventually got sick herself, but I loved how they took care of one another without complaint. In the end, it was just another week in the Edge household, but it is so much easier when there are those extra hands. The burden is a lot lighter. And I always find my kids WANTING to help, not always complaining about the work and that makes my heart happy. Happy momma- even though I’m still working on that laundry!!
