Today I am sick and I hate being sick.  I go out of my way not to get sick and for the last year I have been avoiding colds like Congress avoids progress.  However today I gave in, I have caught a cold and I am bowing out.

This morning, I rose before the sun and my alarm clock.  I stumbled into the kitchen and proceed to go through the routines that accompany a regular day of activities.  Except today I was going three times slower and attempting to slurp down two cups of Emergen-c tea. I kept repeating to myself, I have too much to do, I can’t get sick. Just one more cup of tea and an Advil Cold and Sinus and I will be fine.

It was during this moment that I stopped myself and realized, it was okay to be sick. No it is not fun, I am still in my sweats and my hair is strikingly similar to that of the snakes on Medusa but I need to stop.   I need to take some time off from the busy routine of life and rest. I believe this holds true for all moms.

As moms, we have so much on our plates that a simple head cold can and will send us reeling.  The schedules, practices, meals and basic day to day maintenance typically does not happen if we are down for the count.  So to keep things operating in an efficient manner we truck on through and making ourselves miserable in the process. Today I am saying no.

Today my house is a mess.

Today there are dinosaurs and tracks all over my floor.

Tissues are on my coffee table and YES there are dirty dishes still in the sink.

AND I DON’T CARE.

Moms need a day off occasionally to rehabilitate. If we get the same obnoxious cold that your kid had last week because he/she brought it home from school, call in sick. Order in, sit on the couch and rest. In my case…blog.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking at least one 24 hour period to fix your ailing body.

This is me standing on my mom soap box today.  Moms, we are busy, important, and typically insane people that never stop.  I am encouraging for you to take a day off if you are sick.  Everything will still be there tomorrow.

My Mom Soap Box Homemade Chicken Noodle Soap Recipe:

1 – 4/5lb chicken cut up

6 cups of water

1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 dried medium noodles (I use egg noodles – 1 cup)

1 cup chopped carrots (2 medium)

1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)

2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsely

1. In a Dutch Oven combine chicken, water, onion, salt and pepper, and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat.  Simmer  covered about 2 hours or until chicken is tender

2. Remove chicken from the broth.  After it has cooled remove the meat from the bones.  Toss the bones. Cute meat into bite sized pieces and set aside.  Discard bay leaf and skim the fat from the broth

3. Bring broth to a boil. Stir in noodles, carrots, and celery.  Simmer, covered for approximately 8 minutes or until the noodles are tender. Stir in Chicken and parsely and heat through.

Enjoy!

(Soup recipe is from Better Homes and Garden)