This week was a rough one. Last Friday, I woke up exhausted and extremely congested, and thought I’d caught a bad cold. It got worse over the weekend, though, and on Sunday I started to experience stomach pain as well. I went to the doctor on Tuesday and found out I had a sinus infection with a side of stomach inflammation. I couldn’t breathe well, had trouble sleeping even though I was bone-tired, and couldn’t eat anything except graham crackers and toast. It was the first time I’d been seriously sick for more than a day or two since Edwin was born, and the first time I had to figure out how to be a stay-at-home mom when I was also a sick-at-home mom. There are many, many perks of being a SAHM, but one drawback is not being able to take a full sick day where you can rest at home, alone and quiet.

As life often happens, the timing of this sick-week inconveniently coincided with a big milestone. Edwin decided over the weekend that he was ready to give up a nap. He’s been a very regular twice-a-day napper for many months, and hadn’t shown any signs of wanting to give one up. On Friday, he took his usual two naps, lasting 60-90 minutes each. On Saturday, he woke up over an hour later than usual, so the first nap seemed unnecessary, and he took a long afternoon nap. On Sunday he woke up at his usual time, but seemed to have decided he liked the one nap idea. He refused his afternoon nap on Sunday, his morning nap on Monday, and had so much energy at the usual morning nap time on Tuesday that I didn’t even try. There hasn’t been any change in his demeanor- if anything, he seems happier and more energetic. So he gave up his nap literally overnight, with no transition time whatsoever. (My parents say I did that as a baby, too.) In the long run, I suppose it makes things easier for me, not having to guess whether it should be a one- or two-nap day, but it was a bad week for me not to get a morning break.

Additionally, this was also a busy week for my husband, who had a lot of evening and weekend commitments. So I had to lean heavily on my parents, who were fortunately available to watch Edwin for at least a few hours every day, and on my mother-in-law, who helped out after work and on the weekend. I was lucky to be able to get a lot of rest, and am gradually starting to feel better, though I’m not yet up to my usual energy level.

Here are some things I learned this week:

– I am so grateful to be living in my and Nick’s hometown area. Having one set of grandparents nearby is a blessing; having two, totaling four grandparents who can’t wait to spend time with their grandson, is a huge gift. I don’t know how moms who don’t live near family would handle a week like this one.

– Most of what I do can be postponed or rescheduled. I don’t know quite know how to feel about this; I suppose glad that I have the kind of life where most of what I do is self-driven, and therefore can be self-halted for a few days. I still managed to get blog posts up, but that was pretty much it, writing-wise. I had to cancel my flute lessons one day, which was frustrating, as winter weather has cancelled lessons at other points this month, and most of my students are preparing for the solo festivals coming all too soon. But I have faith that if we work a bit harder in the coming weeks, we can make up the time. I tend to be a good motivator in a time crunch, and I haven’t had an unprepared student yet.

– If you’re going to live on toast, tea and crackers, buy good bread (I love Vermont Country Farms soft whole wheat) and good tea (Harney & Sons organic peppermint).

– If you’re going to rest, but are having trouble sleeping, find a good book (I read Between Sisters by Kristin Hannah- depressing, but absorbing) and a good movie (re-watched Mr. Holland’s Opus on the HBO app and cried like a baby).

The good news is, February is finally over, and spring is just around the corner. Now that Edwin’s schedule has changed, we can go out in the mornings. I may even get to start going to my favorite Step class during the week, if I can get Edwin acclimated to the gym daycare. New opportunities abound; it’s time for renewal of goals, energy and good habits. Winter rest is ending.

What are you looking forward to in March?

Despite being sick, I did manage to take a brief trip to the annual Adams garden show with my family.