Kate Wicker

Storyteller & Speaker

One of Those Days

You know you’re having one of those days when:

  • You wake up at 2 AMish to hear the sound of your husband dry heaving in the bathroom, sick with the virulent virus you thought had miraculously bypassed your house for the first time in three years.
  • After putting a damp washcloth on your dearly pathetic…errr… you mean beloved’s neck and fetching him a glass of water, you crawl back into bed and fall back asleep for about 15 minutes before you hear the sound of a baby crying. (You’re not dreaming. That’s your baby really crying.)
  • After nursing your baby, you find that the dry heaving has turned into full-blown hurling. You also find your 3-year-old sprawled across your bed. At least she’s back asleep and doesn’t seem to notice the fact that her dad sounds like he’s dying from dysentery.
  • You attempt to offer your husband a little comfort and then return to bed and finally stop staring at those blaring red numbers on the alarm clock long enough to drift off to that hazy world that exists between Slumberland and Wide Awake Land (it’s not quite sleep, but you’ll take it). Meanwhile, two kids’ feet are attempting to burrow into your right ear.
  • The baby wakes up an hour before she usually does in the morning. Maybe she’s excited about celebrating her first birthday. Or perhaps she has some bad gas. Or she could have heard those blasted police sirens that seem to wail all nightlong. You swear you live in a relatively safe part of the city. The search helicopter has only shone its light down on your street once. It was kind of cool, really. Like something out of 24.
  • Your coffeemaker goes crazy on you and burns your thumb with an angry puff of steam.
  • Today’s high is 90-plus degrees and you’re outside for several hours to participate in your homeschool co-op’s field day. You keep pumping water into your preschooler, but you forget about drinking anything yourself and end up puking all over your baby while she’s nursing. Talk about an unexpected birthday gift.
  • Your preschooler becomes the second burn victim of the day and has three bubbly, white blisters on her fingers. Note to self: The tips of sparklers are very hot even after they’ve been extinguished.
  • Speaking of fingers, the baby gets hers stuck in a door hinge for the first time in her 365 days of life and begins to sob. Another nice birthday gift.
  • The baby recovers. You plop her in the bath with her big sis. Baby gives sheepish grin and explodes (as in poops something more nuclear than plutonium). Your preschooler says, “Ewwwww,” as you attempt to recover the slippery Baby Ruth from the bathtub. You can’t help but think it’s payback time for throwing up all over her earlier that same day.
  • Your husband, who looks like he’s been run over by a Mack truck, looks at you when you finally come to bed and says, “What a day. You’re amazing. Thank you for all you do.” And you say, “No. I’d be amazing if I didn’t ever complain about it.” And maybe next time you won’t because you start thinking, it has been one of those days.

    One of those days when you stumble and puke on your baby, and there’s instantly a throng of women standing by to hold your kids, to hand you a glass of water, and to tell you to take it easy for at least a few minutes.

    One of those days when several loved ones call to wish your little one a happy birthday.

    One of those days when your 3-year-old looks at you with a concerned face and says, “Don’t worry, Mommy. You’re just hot. You’re not sick like Daddy.” And thank goodness you’re not.

    One of those days when your sick, sick husband drags himself out of bed so you can sing “Happy Birthday” as a family to your 1-year-old while she claps and smiles in the spotlight.

    One of those days your husband gives you a pat on the back just when you’re thinking you could really use a pep talk.

    Now that that day is over, you’re convinced you occasionally need “one of those days” (or maybe even one of those years or one of those far heavier crosses to carry) just to realize how incredibly lucky you are and how many damn people love you and your family.

    • Comments

    1. Amen!! Sister!! God bless you and I do hope you have a good night sleep tonight and you know that I have been there, no it’s no fun, but you have a grand blessing in knowing you have it really, REALLY good!

      Hugs!
      Ebeth

    2. Laughing in sympathy.
      Impressed by your humor in the face of, um, smelly stuff.
      And inspired.
      As usual.

      Hugs to be delivered in person IN LESS THAN TWO DAYS!!! :)

    “She could never be a saint, but she thought she could be a martyr if they killed her quick.”

    ―Flannery O'Connor