In college these words meant two things: parties and papers. Fun parties, where you meet new people and end up talking and drinking and having a good time until three in the morning. Or, conversely, term papers that you should have finished weeks ago, but in reality did not start until yesterday. Ah, yes, up all night.
In my twenties, I flew for United as a flight attendant. Up all night meant a red-eye flight, most likely with a tantalizing reward at the end that did not involve a hangover or a B+ final grade: a 24-hour layover in Paris or a 56-hour layover in Sydney. This kind of up all night clearly paid dividends.
Then up all night stopped. Married, no term papers, no wild parties, and enough seniority to fly during the daytime. Nights were for sleeping. Only vampires and security guards stay up all night, not me.
Two babies changed all that, with their midnight cries and aching hunger. This was the variety of up all night that you say is worth it (when your kids are five and eight years old) but at the time you whisper, “When will you sleep 12 hours straight like all the parenting books promised?” You survive on coffee and moral support, most likely given to you by well-meaning mommy-friends or perhaps your husband.
Last night we were up all night. Tall had a nasty case of food poisoning, the type where six hours to the minute after ingesting the suspect food (“It did taste funny at the restaurant, Mommy, but I was hungry,”) all the food comes back up, along with any trace of anything resembling food or liquid that has the misfortune of being in the intestinal tract. He threw up not once, but five times, each incident worse than the last. The Husband and I got him wet washcloths and new bags to vomit in, and we took turns staying with him. We would just start to doze, when his rebellious stomach would attack him yet again.
In the morning, Tall felt tired and sleepy, but his body finally felt better, normal. I placed my hand gently on his forehead, the ever-accurate Mommy Thermometer, and he smiled and whispered to me, “You’re a good mommy.”
I don’t mind up all night.
MOV
[ Hugz ]
ReplyDeletethanks! :)
DeleteCozy couch day for you and Tall today, I hope!
ReplyDeletehe is back to his old self, thank goodness. however, he did not want to even look at food for half day. (cannot blame him there!)
DeleteThat does make it worth it, doesn't it? Glad Tall's feeling better, and hopefully you'll both get some sleep today.
ReplyDeletethanks! this actually happened yesterday, and we both got normal sleep last night. yay!
DeleteOh, poor kid! That is awful. I have had the misfortune of having food poisoning three times in my life. The first time my parents were also stricken. That was a scene out of some kind of medical drama to be sure.
ReplyDeleteYou are a good mommy! I hope you can all get some proper rest today.
thank you! food poisoning is the worst, huh? The Husband has had food poisoning from avocadoes of all things, and I had it with eggs in Mexico, and another time with bad airplane lasagna. yuck!
DeleteYou are doing something right, Mom. Sorry about your night!!
ReplyDeletePoor little one. He's right...you are a good Mommy.
ReplyDeleteI know, when you see your child so sick like that, you would rather that YOU were the one throwing up to spare them that agony.
DeleteI was just innocently reading along, and then GULP! Instant lump in throat.
ReplyDelete"You're a good mommy" got me! Those are definitely the worthwhile moments.
Good thoughts on a speedy recovery for Tall's Tummy!
thank you! I know, I was waiting for him to say, "Hey Mom, you have bad breath" or something like that. Very gratifying that he said somehting so sweet.
DeleteI was recently told in a comment on my blog that even when our kids annoy us, they always do something sweet to remind up why we didn't kill them when we wanted to. Things like "You're a good mommy" are just such moments. Love on that boy and cherish every moment, even the sick ones.
ReplyDeletethank you! nice words! love your comment. :)
DeleteJust when you start to wonder why you had kids... they remind you. So glad he's feeling better.
ReplyDeletethank you! he will be embarassed to know I wrote about him................. yikes.
DeleteI saw the title and it immediately resonated with my wife and I. We have a new foster baby in our home, since January 9 and there are many nights that, between the two of us, we are up all night. Its better than when she was recovering from pregnancy at the same time, but still very tiring. Some nights, as we pass in the dark, we have to squint to see if we recognize each other...someday we will sleep together again ;)
ReplyDeletethank you for writing. congrats on your new foster baby! you are doing a wonderful thing. I hope you and your wife can get a little sleep soon! (live for those naps)
Deletexxo
MOV
Awwww! (You're posts have been making me aww a lot lately!)
ReplyDeleteBTW I hate to do this to you, but I tagged you :)
Deletehttp://ohmeowmeowoh.blogspot.com/2012/02/they-got-me-dang-nabbit.html
You don't really have to do this though!
thank you, aysh, I am honored! (although I am not sure my audience could stomach 11 more things about me..........)
DeleteThat's definitely a "worth it" night. Very sweet of him but poor kid!
ReplyDeletethanks Gina! he's feeling better now. those kinds of nights are no fun.
DeleteThank you, Tall, for appreciating your mommy so much. MOV, you are such a sweetie....and a very good mommy.
ReplyDeletethanks, Jo! might be a good mommy, but not much of a housekeeper.............. =O
DeleteIck!! Poor Tall! I'm glad he is feeling better! I wonder if you guys are like us and have weak stomachs? (i will email story tomorrow) Glad all is well on the home front, tho!!
ReplyDeleteBe blessed
T
thanks, tera! he is back to his old self.
DeleteAnd they get to change your diaper when you're old...
ReplyDeleteI guess that is payback, huh?
DeleteYep
Delete