Surviving the Flu

We’ve all heard of the ‘man cold’… that dreaded runny nose and coughing accompanied with whining…not from our kids, but from our husbands.

Well let me tell you, the ‘man flu’ is even worse!

My husband recently got slapped in the face with the flu. It hit fast and left him on the floor…literally. He slept on the bathroom floor.

When someone is sick with the flu it’s terrible. When your significant other is hit with the flu and you have kids, it’s downright unfair!

All of the duties and responsibilities that we would usually share suddenly rested solely on my shoulders. I don’t think I’ll ever take our partnership in this adventure called life for granted ever again.

After I collapsed on the spare room bed from pure exhaustion during his sickness I kept thinking to myself, “Why am I so damn tired?” So I decided to compile a list of all of the things that I did on my own in a day. No wonder why I was exhausted!

1. Did my morning workout.
2. Showered.
3. Got our girls up to go to the bathroom.
4. Made the girls and myself breakfast and put something bland together for hubby who was upstairs in bed.
5. Got the girls dressed for the day.
6. Packed up a lunch and snacks and out the door to go to the mall (to get away from the germs and let daddy rest).
7. Loaded up the stroller.
8. Hit up a couple of stores.
9. Took them on the rides in the kids zone in the mall.
10. Got the girls lunch.
11. Picked up a coffee on the way home.
12. Got the girls back in the door, to the toilet and in bed for their nap.
13. I then laid down for 20 minutes myself.
14. Took the dog for a walk.
15. Shovelled the driveway.
16. Picked up the mail.
17. Lysol wiped everything.
18. Worked a bit on my business.
19. Woke the girls up.
20. Unloaded the dishwasher.
21. Made dinner.
22. Cleaned up dishes.
23. Tidied up the house.
24. Got the girls into their pj’s for bed, helped them brush their teeth.
25. Read books and got the girls to sleep.
26. Did two loads of laundry.
27. Collapsed into bed.

There were two solid days where my hubby was completely immobile and unable to help with anything. Those two days were followed by at least another few of him trying to regain his strength. Something that I can completely sympathize with; we thought we were out of the woods because the girls and I had had our flu shots. But six days later, both myself and one of our twins were hit with the very same bug!

By that point my husband couldn’t take any more time off of work after having spent the majority of the week in bed, so my father-in-law came to the rescue and stayed for a day to help care for the twins while I lay in bed.

So, while the ‘man cold’ whining may not be warranted to evoke sympathy, I can now say through experience that the ‘man flu’ is!