It’s been a hard day’s night

SarahandLouise - 4 Apr 16

I’m writing this in the car whilst parked at my local supermarket. I have a 2 year old snoring in her car seat and a 1 year old looking at me inquisitively. Several passers-by have glanced at me through the windows (Note to self…must make some Sarah and Louise Car stickers so people know what I’m doing!)

So why, you may well ask, why am I writing this in the car? Well I’m here because I just HAD to get out of my prison house. I couldn’t take it anymore and for my own sanity and the safety of all concerned, particularly my husband, I’ve ‘popped to the shops’ even though the shopping was delivered yesterday.

Here’s the thing, since January my three children have taken it in turns to be ill; like a tag team. Cough after cough, cold after cold, bug after bug and this week, being Easter holidays they have mustered an eggstra special quantity of illness with all three being ill with high temperatures, snots, tummy aches, headaches, sickness and the eldest one has spectacularly managed ear infections in both ears.

I am seriously considering buying shares in Calpol and Dettol!

I recently heard a statistic about the germs that children harbour. It went as follows, if you have one child then there is a virus in your home 20% of the time. If you have two this increases to 40% of the time and three 60% of the time. Any more than three you may as well dress in surgical mask, gloves and gown and open your own medical centre!

On top of all of these ailments the baby also has some huge teeth coming through and needless to say there has been no sleep in my house whatsoever all week.

Yesterday was an especially eventful day where I was covered in every possible child’s bodily fluid at some point during the day (apart from blood)! Sick, wee, diarrhoea, tears, snot, dribble you name it, they wiped it on me! Who said motherhood wasn’t glamourous eh?!

So this is why I am writing in a carpark, because I am literally sick and tired of it all.

I have concluded, thanks to the wonderful and supportive words of other mum bloggers and of course my friends and family, that it’s actually OK to admit this. It’s ok to say that at times it’s all too much, that you are bored of the monotony of the relentless jobs, the washing, the clearing up sick, and the long exhausting nights. It’s ok to say life is hard when the children have been whinging all day, when the baby won’t let you put him down, when you are feeling pretty rough yourself and the last shitty nappy has just tipped you over the edge.

Granted, none of these things are life or death, they are simply life and sometimes life is a bit hard.

As I write this my daughter is now coughing and gagging in the back of the car… More Sick? What fun! Let’s go shopping covered in sick!…

****

Having just returned from a quick wander around the supermarket and Mothercare, where I think I had hoped that the name of the shop was a description of what would happen inside, I am feeling slightly more cheerful. In the shops I witnessed other exhausted parents with their snotty, grumpy offspring clamped to their hips. I saw parents with bags (shopping and under the eyes), and I saw the knowing and sympathetic looks as other parents looked at my double pushchair.

I’m not sure I’m entirely ready to go home and face dinner, bath and bedtimes and undoubtedly another long and stressful night, but I am certainly feeling less ‘alone’ and a bit more human.

I‘m also not sure what the point of this blog was, other than a cathartic rambling to help my tired brain make sense of the long snotty week we’ve had. I think maybe I was hoping for an epiphany where I would suddenly realise what I need to do to restore health and sleep to my life and family. That was a long shot, but at least I’ve put pen to paper and when some normality finally returns I will absolutely appreciate every single healthy second!

Sarah. X

SarahandLouise

Sarah and Louise (that's us), have been best friends for over 20 years and, although in our heads we are still 15 years old, in reality we are now mums to no less than five small people! As well as being mum's we also have jobs that keep us busy. Louise works in Social Media. Sarah is currently home educating her eldest child and has created a small business called The Do Try This at Home School, where she offers lots of creative ideas to help children and families learn together. She also offers classes in Kent. https://www.thedotrythisathomeschool.com/ She is also a reflexologist and Infant massage instructor. http://www.naturalreflexionsholistictherapies.com/ Thank you for reading our posts, we'd love you to come and find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

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