A Messed Up Week & Mom Guilt

Little Harper has been home sick since last Thursday. You read that right. Since December 8, I've had a 5 year old following me all over the house when her big sissy isn't home. I haven't known what that was like since she started kindergarten in September.

I've had the freedom and ability to work part-time from home. I've been able to schedule my day around their school day. But the past week has been anything but normal. Or easy.

First, she's not sick anymore. However, per the pediatrician's orders, she is not permitted to return to school until December 19 for fear of being further infected by a sick child at school. Soooo, I've got a perfectly well (but coughing) 5 year old at home. Bored. Out. Of. Her. Mind. She asks me to play all the time and doesn't understand that I cannot always play with her. I had the flexibility last year. But this year my situation has changed. I have commitments that are beyond her grasp.

It's difficult to get a child to understand that I have an email inbox overflowing with opportunities for sponsored posts. You know, the kind that pay me money!!!! The money that will, in turn, pay for some of her Christmas gifts. But try explaining that to a 5 year old. Yeah, impossible.

And then there's Mom Guilt. The monkey on my back. That nagging voice in my head saying, "When she's leaving for college, you'll remember this day and wish that you had played with her." Gee, thanks. And so, I cave to Mom Guilt in an attempt to stifle that monkey. I played Fisher-Price people ("People House", as she calls it) for 2 hours. I sat on the floor of her bedroom, occasionally checking my email and Twitter stream. Oh, shoot me, OK? When I picked myself off her floor, my lower back was killing me. I'm too old for this, but how do I tell her that I'd rather sit on an inflatable donut than on her hardwood floor?

All week I looked forward to yesterday when the Hubs and I took the kids into Manhattan for the day. No "People House"! No "Hello Kitty hide and seek". Don't ask.

I am so ready to put this week behind me. How did I get through it? Well, the support of a great husband and wine. Don't judge.

Hoping your week was better than mine...