Talk about good (or bad) timing… when Mucinex® asked me for tips to keeping a clear head while balancing a hectic schedule, the same week all six of my kids came down with the flu, I gladly agreed to share my story.
Day 1: College girl texts me from bed telling me she is sick and can’t get up. I ask her to wake up her younger sister (who is sharing her bed) and send her downstairs.
Day 2-5: College girl moans and groans and when she occasionally appears from her room makes sure we all know how sick she is. At some point during this time I realize that younger sister needs to move into my room until college girl is better. I decide this week’s as good as any to paint and redo my laundry room.
Day 4: Toddler falls asleep in my arms during school. This has never happened. In my blissful state I fail to see this is the first sign of the dreaded flu.
Day 4: 10 year-old disappears sometime in the late afternoon. Reappears around bedtime, blazing fever, cough, achy.
Day 5. 10 year-old and toddler sleep most of the day.
Day 6. I return college girl to college and walk into a dorm full of sick college girls. I leave quickly. I return home to find 12 year-old boy sick, and younger sister complaining of a headache.
Day 7. 10 year-old is worse, make doctor’s appointment. 12 year-old is sicker and now younger sister is sick. 10 year-old tests positive for the flu.
Day 8. All but two kids are sick. Teenage boy tells me he feels great and heads to co-op. He comes home 3 hours later, lays face first on the couch and sleeps for 3 hours. 6 year-old is telling me she is very tired and cold. Uh-oh.
Teenage boy already has a doctor’s appointment for an infected toe in the afternoon. I let him sleep and head out to run errands while everyone else is sleeping too.
I stop by the church, pay my taxes, go to the post office, pick up flu survival supplies at the grocery store, get a library card, and return home just in time to grab teenage boy and take him to the doctor’s office. We arrive and he has a fever of 102.
Another one bites the dust.
We come home after picking up antibiotics for his toe and flu medicine, I’m tired, but somehow have managed not to get sick.
While all my kids don’t usually get sick at the same time, my days with are typically filled with the unexpected interruptions that come with parenthood.
So how do I keep a clear head when crazy hits?
1. Get enough sleep. While I’m tempted to stay up and grab some “me time” when things get hectic, getting a good night sleep is always best.
2. Keep exercising. Exercising improves my mood, helps me focus, and keeps me healthy. It also is a great stress reliever. Even though my workouts are much shorter on days like today, I still try to fit them in.
3. Drink lots of water. Staying hydrated is important no matter what type of day you are having, but when things get crazy it is easy to forget to drink enough. Filling up a water bottle helps me remember to drink frequently and is easy to take with me when I’m running errands or just running around the house.
4. Do the big stuff and don’t sweat the small stuff. I’ve lived long enough to know that there are hectic days and days that are less hectic than the hectic days. Don’t wear yourself out trying to be supermom, get the big stuff done and worry about the small stuff when things are calmer.
5. Smile, laugh, and remember this isn’t going to last forever. The best way to keep a clear head on hectic days, don’t lose your sense of humor. I joked with my husband tonight that the benefit of everyone being sick was lots of naps and going to bed early. My house hasn’t been this quiet in years! While I would take a noisy house over sick kids any day, the quiet has been nice.
Balancing a hectic schedule is hard enough. Trying to keep it together when you’re under the weather requires additional help. Maximum Strength* Mucinex® Sinus-Max™ Pressure & Pain triple action formula fights mucus, congestion, sinus pressure and headache/pain. With cold and flu season in full force, I am relieved to know that even my worst symptoms can’t derail my plans.
* Per 4-hour dose
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Mucinex. The opinions and text are all mine.
