A Day In The Life...

Ever wonder what a day in the life of a working mom is like? Well ... allow me to share!

Monday morning, at around 10:00, I was in a friends cube (in a different building at work) and I got a call from a strange person in my company. Evidently, my husband had been trying to track me down to tell me my son was ill and needed to be picked up from daycare.

Now, you need to understand ... my husband is a very calm, laid back kind of person, and for him to actively try to find me through out my workplace sent a wee bit of urgency through the message.

I got back to my desk and called Hunter's pediatrician, as this was the FIFTEENTH day in a row that we have battled some kind of fever, whether it was 99.9 or 104.7, and in this case, it was 104.5, and I insisted that they see him as soon as possible. I went and got him from day care, and the day care provider told me that all he wanted to do was lay in the playpen, and he moaned each time he moved. She had tried to give him water, and cool him down with a moist washcloth, but he didn't want to be touched, didn't want to drink, and didn't want to eat.

By the time I got him into the doctors office, waited ONE HOUR, and worried about my glowingly-bright-red-hot child, I was mad. Very.Mad. I hadn't been able to give him anything for his fever because I came straight from daycare, and I was very worried about him. And the doctor's office was taking forEVER. They finally took me back, gave me a cup of water (which he practically attacked and gulped down), and finally ... finally ... the doctor came to look at him. He presented symptoms of an infection, but his lungs sounded clear, and his ears were clear of infection. They proceeded to catheterize him (oh, my poor child) to get a urine sample, they swabbed his nose for a flu test, and confirmed that each test came back negative. The doctor said she was sending him to the hospital for a chest x-ray and some blood work (the only location that gives stat results), because she didn't know what was wrong with him, and if these two tests came back negative, they were calling in an infections disease specialist.

Now, I was starting to get just a wee bit anxious by this time. I had to take my sick child to the hospital ... alone. I don't know about you, but the mere thought of finding parking at our hospital is enough to scare anyone. In fact, they offer Valet Parking... that should tell you something! But as I waited in the drive-through line at Roy Rogers (it seems as if Sprite is the miracle cure-all), I prayed over my little boy, and prayed that we would have angels help us through everything he was getting ready to experience.

And lo and behold, as I pull up to the hospital, I find a parking spot in the front row! No, I'm not kidding... right in front of the door (thank you Lord). We were checked in right away (Praise God!), and we head back to get his blood drawn, which was done right away (Hallelujah!). Of course, I had to hold him down for the third time in one day, and he screamed his heart out, but I think he forgave me. Finally, the last test ... the most painless one of all ... the x-ray. And this, my friends, is where my son totally lost it. He'd had enough and had a melt down. It took two of us to hold him down. But this turned out to be the most critical of all tests, because it confirmed that he had pneumonia in his right lung. Praise God! Yes, praise God, because now we could treat him.

And, as if that wasn't enough, I had a message for me when I got home telling me that my strep throat culture came back positive. No wonder I was so wiped out and feeling cruddy!

Tuesday: Yes, there's more ... on Tuesday, our refrigerator was scheduled to be delivered (excellent way to clean out all the old stuff). So, they arrive early, and I rushed to empty the fridge with a child on my hip. They replace the old with the new, I signed off, and they left. Easy peasy. Except I have to put everything back in the fridge and freezer.

But all is well, because at this point, Hunter is fascinated enough that he's distracted from feeling bad and I'm able to put him down. I finish this chore in time to glance down and find that Hunter had gotten hold of three mini pancakes -- the frozen ones -- and was happily gnawing away at them. Evidently, he didn't notice that they were frozen solid and rock hard. Hey! It was what was keeping him happy, and he was actually eating! Whatever works! I'm not complaining! And if I had more energy, I may have sprinted for the camera ... but ... well ... naaah. We spent the rest of the day cuddling and both of us were feeling pretty sick and exhausted.

Anyway, even though all this happened, I know Hunter was in God's hands. My husband had called an army of people to begin praying for him, and our church e-prayer list was deployed. This child was bathed in prayer, and God reached down and touched and protected him. The funny thing is, that even though I have a ton of scriptures memorized, as well as a ton of worship songs in this old brain of mine, the only thing I could think to sing to Hunter all day long as I was pinning him down from one table to another was, "Jesus Loves Me." And it's true -- "...little ones to him belong, they are weak but He is strong."

So ... that's a day in the life of a working mom. And here I am, back at work while the grandparents watch Hunter.

Whew!! I'm exhausted! Can anyone tell me when the momma gets to be sick? Just wondering.

And for anyone that's a die-hard trivia lover ... did you know that Bobby Flay's wife is a former Law & Order: SVU actress Stephanie March -- just a bit of useless trivia I got from watching the Food Network.