Friday Shuffle - Pile o' Tissues Edition

It's days like today when I get a taste of what it must be like for a mother with a lot on her plate. I do know what it's like to always be responsible for someone's welfare and never really getting away from that responsibility - I'm the sole caregiver to my quadriplegic husband - but I think I get off easier than being the mother of a baby or toddler. Sure, I have to do almost everything for my husband and he's not going to outgrow quadriplegia so he's never going to become independent from me but unlike the mother of little ones, my husband can tell me what he wants, always cooperates with me, doesn't have to be forced to eat his green beans or take a nap and has never subjected me to watching the Teletubbies.

But days like today give me an idea of what it's like to be overly tired, sick, and have very little go right. Last night B had a very upset stomach and dealing with that kept me up until well after 4am. He woke me up a little after 8am with his stomach hurting him again and by the time I got him settled back down the girl living above us started practicing her piano. Getting up for the stomach thing and being awakened by the piano went on until noon when I finally dragged my carcass out of bed. I managed to get B to have some toast and tea and about that time the massive sneezing attacks started up with me along with weepy eyes and a headache that goes down to my neck. Even later when I tried to nap it was thwarted by my head and neck hurting and my endlessly dripping nose.

Right now my head feels like an overly inflated balloon, my eyes are burning, my nose is stuffed and itchy to the point where I wish I could shove my hands inside and scratch out whatever is making it itch.

And the tissues. I am drowning in a sea of tissues. I build up a pile on the sofa table and then when I can summon the energy to get up I take them all to the trash. The pile of tissues is rivaling the pile of dirty clothes I've got stashed away.

How do you moms do it? How to you manage to take care of sick kids when you're sick yourself? How do you keep going when you're exhausted? I can at least negotiate with my husband. I have a bare minimum I need to do for him and if I don't go beyond that for a day or two it's okay. I don't have to worry about him having a screaming fit or running around like a maniac. I have always said that I think moms of little ones have it harder than me and today I'm fully sticking to that opinion.

Bixente, the iPod has it easy. All he's got to do it be turned on shuffle for me. Let's go.

1. Grace Kelly - Mika
2. Don't Be Square (Be There) - Adam & The Ants
3. Meds - Placebo
4. I Started A Joke - Bee Gees
5. Walking On Broken Glass - Annie Lennox
6. Again - Lenny Kravitz
7. Papa Loved Mama - Garth Brooks
8. Lay Down (Candles In The Rain) - Melanie
9. Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot
10. Wrong 'Em Boyo - The Clash

Now my ears are popping. Bixente the iPod claims innocence.