“If you don’t like the weather now, just wait a few minutes,”
or so the saying goes.
The same could be said of motherhood.
There are moments when I am so overwhelmed by the stresses
of life, and then my son does something so naively amazing, and I am struck
with the incredible blessings of life.
Conversely, when I allow myself to slip into the safe
security of a family routine, it is easily shattered unexpectedly.
Heading into the holidays, I was entrenched in planning
mode. It was my first time hosting Christmas dinner and, just 10 days later,
was my son’s second birthday party.
Now, some people might not get too jazzed about a
2-year-old’s birthday, but in most cases with the attendees, this is one of the
few times my husband and I get to connect with our friends and their children
altogether.
Even though I enjoy these experiences, however, I am filled
with relief once they’re over, and I look forward to life returning to normal.
And this year was no exception, but this year, life had other plans. My toddler
suddenly spiked a fever more than a week ago. He was diagnosed with respiratory
syncytial virus, or RSV, a highly contagious malady that can lead to more
serious illnesses in children.
I’ve been down this road before with my son, as he had RSV
last year. But he just didn’t seem to be responding to the prescribed
medications by our pediatrician. By Thursday, we were in the emergency room and
he had a temperature of 104 degrees.
Three hours later, his condition was stabilized and we had a
diagnosis of pneumonia. Did I mention the pink eye in between?
Yes, motherhood, like the weather, has amazing highs and
gut-wrenching lows, and I’m beginning to understand that it’s pretty common for
these extremes to occur within the same week.
But each time the pendulum swings the other way, it
certainly puts things in perspective and when enough time passes, you look back
and literally feel yourself growing as a human being through the parenting
process.
And that makes every five minutes worth living.
— Sarah Leach is editor of The Holland Sentinel.
Contact her at (616) 546-4278 or sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com.
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