tuesday's true confession: don't call child protective services...PLEASE!

I woke up in the middle of the night to this, "Mommy, my tummy hurts.  I think I'm hungry."  In a sleepy stupor, I explained that we don't get snacks in the middle of the night.  Then in my best "mom-voice" I said, "This is why mommy wanted you to eat a few more bites of your fruit at dinner tonight."  I bent down to kiss her on the forehead and tuck her back into bed, and that was my first clue that the tummy ache was not really from hunger.  Her forehead was cold and clammy.  My "mom-voice" was instantly replaced with my "mom-radar".  My second clue happened two seconds later when she said, "I'm going to throw up!"  Huston we have a problem!  I whisked her into the bathroom, held her hair and rubbed her back for the opening ceremonies that began a long night of little sleep and lots of time in the bathroom.  

Now usually, on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday each week my kids spend the day with a wonderful woman from church who has an in-home daycare.  Last night's festivities earned my oldest daughter a ticket to stay home today which means I'm home as well. 

And before I make my confession this Tuesday, I need to state a disclaimer: 
I love my children dearly.  They are beautiful, wonderful, strong and amazing.  I don't ever WANT anything bad to happen to them and I don't HOPE that they get sick.

But I confess that I secretly LOVE when ONE of them is sick - not the kind of sick where they can barely lift their heads off the pillow for days and days but the kind of sick that they have to stay home but aren't miserable.  (I don't, however, secretly love when both of them are sick at the same time because that just turns into mass chaos.)  I love mildly sick days because we have a day for just the two of us at home together.  Once one child becomes two children, there is rarely one-on-one time with either child.  I miss one-on-one time to just be together and hear the heart and mind of one child at a time.    

My daughter was feeling pretty good by morning - probably because there was not a morsel of anything left inside of her body.  And so far our sick-day has been filled with playing a dozen games of Uno and Go Fish, coloring Strawberry Shortcake pages in the coloring book and snuggling on the couch while watching Pipi Longstocking.  At one point, my daughter said, "Mommy, it's just me and you today.  This is so comfy and cozy!" 

And that's why I'm confessing that I secretly LOVE when one of my children is sick!   

Please don't call child protective services on me!

Oh . . . and she's already planning a craft we're going to do together this afternoon!  If she can think of crafts even after being sick all night, I'm definitely inspired in my sleepy state to . . .

craft on!