Irony

Even though I wasn't talking about myself--I was talking about the collective of mothers--I should have known better than to title my post "Mother Knows Best." It's like asking the Universe to prove you wrong.

Speaking of. . .

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a nagging cough that I just couldn't seem to get rid of. Nothing serious--just a cough--but it wouldn't go away. I wanted to go to the doctor, but Charlie's schedule is pretty full, I hated to take him with me and possibly expose him to the flu, we had a wheelchair to pick out, yada, yada, yada. I didn't feel bad enough for it to be the flu so I was guessing that it was allergies or something else minor.

I went through an entire bottle of cough syrup and bought another. We washed all the sheets and blankets in the house and vacuumed every nook and cranny. That darn cough was still there though.

This past week the cough seemed to get worse and I also noticed that I was feeling run down. Genius that I am, I still don't think the cough is a big deal. I start talking about my lousy eating habits and the fact that I need to exercise. I take walks and start doing a little workout DVD in my living room.

Saturday morning I wake up and have a coughing spell so bad that it scared me--I had trouble catching my breath. So I head over to one of those after-hours clinics to see what he thinks. Side note: my friends calls those places Doc in a Box and I think that's hilarious.

So I go see the Doc in a Box and after listening to my chest, reviewing my symptoms, and ruling out a few things, the doctor tells me I have Whooping Cough. I leave with a fist-full of prescriptions. Apparently not all coughs can be cured with a salad and a workout DVD.

Charlie's been given a prescription for antibiotics as well although he's been vaccinated at least once, so his risk of serious infection is pretty low. Apparently some adults outgrow their vaccinations which is how I got it. My husband seems fine. Charlie and I are both on quarantine until Friday. We have no idea where I might have picked up whooping cough--my best guess is the pediatrician's office.

It really is ironic because I never would have let a cough go on that long with Charlie. With me, however, I have a bad habit of putting my needs at the bottom of the list. There's laundry and family dinners and appointments and intellectual programs and research to be done. I really do need to get a little better about attending to my own needs as well as my family's.

I'll be attempting to rest this week--that can be hard when you have a toddler at home, but I'm gonna try.