The Job vs. the Sick Kid: The Battle Rages On

A typical problem with being a working parent combined with juggling single parenting vs. a spouse on shift work – the foe: a sick kid.

This is proving to be one of those weeks that are the worst of all worlds.

Starting with the long weekend, where I undertook the task of doing the single mom camping thing for the long weekend.

I almost cancelled because the kids were fighting so much from the moment I showed up ad daycare to pick them up, all the way home, and the entire time I tried to get ready and load the car.

Adding insult to injury is the worry over the black water tank in the camper being full.  It’s reading full regardless of the level, which would not be an issue it I could actually dump it.  Yep, can’t dump because the pipe needs repair, and I can’t expect the kids to trek to the big bathroom in the dark in the middle of the night with bears hanging around.  And I don’t know how to fix the pipe.

Naturally, it also happened to be when my body decided to visit upon me the woman’s curse – early!  For me that means double the bloating, double the aches, pains, and cramping, double the fatigue and overall crummy feeling.

To make a bad weekend worse, the older kid started getting stuffy as all out and has a full blown head cold by Saturday, and by Sunday the younger is getting sick.  Monday morning what I thought might have just been too much sun has turned into a high fever, lethargic, and downright sicker-than-a-dog sick.

Staying home would have been an even worse weekend for everyone.  I would have spent it fighting with and getting mad at the kids, trying to keep them quiet all day every day so the spouse can sleep.

So, I pack everyone us and head home earlier than I might have Monday.

Now we’re into Tuesday, I ended up leaving the sick kid sleeping while dropping of the other, hoping desperately she’ll let the spouse sleep (who is on the evening shift this week and has to sleep during the day).  Hoping she can sleep for a bit, then he can drop her at daycare.

No such luck.  So far the illness is winning the fight.  She now has it coming out both ends, which means daycare won’t take her and the spouse is getting no sleep.

Now we’re in a pickle.  I’ve only been on this job a year, have already missed much too much time for sick kids (being basically a single mom and the only one who’s been able to stay home with sick kids all year while they’re hit with one virus after another), and the spouse has been on his job even less, and is still in training and can’t take time off.

What are working parents supposed to do with a sick kid when the daycare won’t take them, neither can take the time off work (and we can’t afford either to lose their job), and at only seven she’s too young to leave home alone for half a day?

And for us, the week has only begun.