We have all seen those commercials how moms and dads don’t get sick days, and while I agree that it is true in many ways, I don’t totally agree. I am the exact reason for all the memes going around about how much of a baby that a sick man can turn into. It isn’t easy on the other side either, Lauren got a bug and I was up to bat! It was a Monday morning and my lovely wife sent me a text to say that her stomach hurt and wasn’t feeling well. That’s when I knew that it just got real! I took off work early and headed home to find her in bed and my son had just got home from school, it was go time, no time to relax after work, no time to check social media.
It started with getting my son started on his homework and talk to him about his day while trying to get my daughter a snack. I had to go 0-100 and quickly! While Brenn was working on homework, I went off to get Lilly ready for dance class and got her dressed and made sure she had everything she needed. We eventually made it out the door and to the dance class, or at least I thought so. I had never been to the practice before and had no clue where to park and big surprise, my 5 year old had no clue where momma normally parks or which side of the building to enter. We figured it out and got inside with 3 minutes to spare, whew. Then I was informed that her hair was not up correctly and that is so not my forte. After a mini-meltdown, she went in and had a blast while I had to keep Brenn entertained for an hour in a cold waiting room. After leaving, I get a text that the wife wants soup. I already made the decision that I was not making dinner after this, so I swing by and get Chinese takeout for me with wonton soup for the wife and McDonalds for the kids and make it home with 25 minutes to spare before their bed time.
My daughter comes out with some of the most off-the-wall comments ever. As we sit at dinner, she asked why momma wasn’t feeling better, Lauren tells her that her tummy hurt and maybe daddy tried to poison her with dinner the night before, obviously joking. Lilly then turns to me in a dead serious face and says “I told you it wasn’t a good idea” like a tiny partner in crime and I was left speechless. That is now her catch phrase because of our reaction. The kids got to bed in time with everything ready for the next day and I breathed a sigh of relief.
A day like this reminds us dads just how important it is to tag-team raising your tiny humans. My hat is off to all of you that do it on your own, I know there is no way that I could do it all while working and retain the sliver of sanity that remains. Luckily it was only a 24 hour bug and she was back to battling the world the next day, but as much as we may think that we are prepared for the worst, one case of the flu could take us out for a long, long time!
All Good In The Fatherhood 
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