It’s Just What Moms Do
Last night I was startled awake by a horrible coughing sound coming from my boys’ room. I was almost instantly on my feet and into their room to see who was sick. It’s just what moms do.
If you are a mom, you know what it feels like to be able to go from peacefully dreaming to wide awake and ready to take action in less than 1.3 seconds while your husband could sleep through a hurricane. Or is that just me? ha!
I went into their room and found my 4-year-old coughing so hard his little body was practically folding in half but somehow he was still asleep. So I went to work and did as any mom would do. I gave him some cough medicine and a drink, got the humidifier going in his room and rubbed him up with mentholatum, all while he stayed asleep. (He must get that from his dad 😉 ) And then I rubbed his back and I waited. I waited for the coughing to subside and I waited for his little body to finally relax so that I could relax.
And while I was lying there waiting to make sure the coughing went away, I thought of all of the other moms all over the world who were doing the exact same thing as I was for their babies. Sitting up, even if it meant all night, to make sure their kids are safe and healthy and then the thought came to me, “That’s just what moms do”. And it is. It’s just what moms do.
I thought back to my own childhood and the times my mom did the same thing for me. There was the time in high school when I got in a 4-wheeler accident (ugh..wish I could go back to that day and not go against what my gut was telling me and never have gotten on that 4-wheeler) I hardly remember anything from the accident but I do know the relief I felt when the ambulance got to the hospital and my parents were there waiting for me. I can still see their faces. That night my mom stayed up all night so that she could wake me up every hour to check on me as the ER doctor had told her to do. I hardly remember any of it but just knowing my mom was there made me feel a lot better (well that and the drugs. 😉 ) and now that I have kids of my own I know that if I had been in her shoes, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep anyways. It’s just what moms do.
My 4-year-old slept in until about 10:00 this morning and when he came out I asked how he slept. His response was good and he had good dreams. 🙂 He didn’t remember anything from during the night but thought that it was weird that he had socks on his feet when he woke up (Mentholatum on feet + socks = one of the best cures for coughing, just fyi).
And so today I go through the day, completely exhausted, head nodding every time I sit down, but I have to remind myself that it’s just what moms do and I know I would do it over and over again.
What do you do to survive the exhausting parts of motherhood?
For more Monday Motivations similar to this one you might like Being Thankful for the Small Things or Stop and Smell the Roses.
I just went through this over the weekend. My 4-year-old went through a scary bout with the croup and I stayed up for 2 nights just listening to him breathe! During times like these, I always remind myself that it could be MUCH worse and try to put things in perspective. Extra coffee always helps too. 🙂
Very true. You never realize before you have babies that there will be nights when you just sit up listening for them to breathe.