Can't call out sick from this job.

In the United States, we are fortunate enough to have labor laws to protect our workforce. Employees are given a certain amount of "sick" days each year, as well as "personal" days. We are all entitled to "bereavement" time. And many of us have been fortunate enough to have employers who give us paid "vacation" time. Usually "vacation" time is earned and accumulated over time. So, what is all this leading up to. Although there are labor laws to keep workers happy and healthy. And to make sure we are not taken advantage of, there is one job, and I believe THE MOST IMPORTANT job off all, that does not have these benefits. It is the job of being a parent.
No matter how we feel, good, bad, or indifferent, we cannot take a day off. We cannot call out sick. We do not accumulate vacation time. And, unfortunately, bereveament is usually something that we go through together. Like the mailman, neither rain, nor snow, nor heat of day shall keep us from our appointed rounds. The motto of the parent could be neither migraine, nor backaches, nor lack of sleep shall keep us from taking care of our charges.
If you are a parent, you can appreciate this. It doesn't matter how we feel, we can never fully "check out" and take a break or a sick day. We always have a large part of our mind on our children, there needs and their welfare. We need to take care of them when we are sick, they still need to eat, they still need clean clothing and a warm place to shelter them that they can call home.
Why is this the topic of this post? It has been my life, not just for the past few days, but for 25 years. I have had migraines that I thought were going to make my head explode, and one of my children will come bouncing in with some news that is the "most exciting thing of their entire lives", do we ignore them and tell them to go away? No, we grin and bear it the best we can, we let them tell us their news and encourage them. When they are finished, we calmly explain that we have a headache and need to lay down. Shortly after, we are informed that they are hungry, so we get up and make them something to eat. We once again calmly explain that we have a headache and it would really help if we could just rest awhile. Then, their friends knock on the door and before you know it, you have every 6 grader in the neighborhood tackling each other in your living room. What can we do? Freak out on them? No. As parents, we try to grin and bear it. We have all had our time at being children. We have all put our parents through the paces of not having a sick day. Now, it is their turn. And, it is our turn to give back to them. And yes, the mothers curse really works. You know, "I hope someday you have a child just like you". You know the saying "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree", well in my case, "The apples fell right next to the tree".
If you are a fibromite, and you are in pain, or dealing with migraines, or IBS, or any of the multitude of problems that come along with fibro, try to remember the blessing that we have been given. God has put us in charge of very precious cargo. He has trusted us to raise his children. The saying that God doesn't give us more than we can handle definitely holds true here. We have been blessed with children and cursed with fibro. Yet, God felt we were strong enough to handle it.
No matter how you feel, don't let a moment pass that you take them for granted. They grow up too quick and before you know it, they are leaving the nest and flying on their own. We may not be able to get down on the floor and wrestle with them, or run through the park, but there are a multitude of ways that we can spend quality time with our children. We can play a board game, or have the entire family work as a team to put a jig saw puzzle together. When the weather is nice, sit outside at night and stare at the stars, or start a camp-fire in your back yard and roast some marshmallows.
Most important, make sure you never "call out sick".

Soft Hugs to All
Laurie D.