Hello Friends! I hope everyone is doing well!
This past week was not a very good one for myself or my family. It started out with my children being sick. Half of their school has been out because of the flu, so it spread like crazy. Flu season is ripe upon us and unfortunately, all of my children ended up with it to some degree or another.
I did everything in my power for me to not get the flu. I cleaned every single thing, every single day. I disinfected blankets and sheets. I sprayed down beds with antibacterial sprays. I even gave our children nutrition packed meals with lots of vitamins to keep them from getting worse. I loaded them up on Elderberry syrup for immune system support. We eventually spent $65 on the famous Oscillococcinum and more Elderberry syrup. Yes, it was expensive but it did cut down on their symptoms and total time with the flu, so I do recommend it if you can get your hands on it.
The point is the flu is not great!
So lo and behold, I ended up getting it as soon as everyone went back to school. I am not a good patient at all if I ever get sick. But I guess that's what happens when you are the mother and you have to get everything done in order for your own peace of mind. My husband was off of work through most of the time that I was sick. It was a godsend. I really relied on him and actually took full advantage of sleep and rest as much as I could. I tried not to put up a fight at all. I knew I needed the rest and I finally took it. As you get older you do not realize how much rest you actually do need. I'm the type of person that always puts others needs first and I usually do mine last. But in this case, I was completely miserable for 4 days straight. I literally thought at some point I did not think it was going to end. So as a mother, my advice to you who might be like myself, take the rest. You need it. It's okay. Use your spouse to help you. Use your children to help you if they are old enough to help. If you don't have that help, enlist other family members or friends if you can. You cannot be 100% for your family if you cannot take that time for yourself and rest. You will be alright.
I know you may feel like death may be upon you, but when you do try to get up, try to lighten it up a little by washing your face as soon as you get up in the morning. It will make you feel a little human. I get it, you feel really bad from the flu but every little bit of comfort helps. Take your morning shower. That way a little life might come back and it will also help with congestion and muscle aches. Believe me, this works. The longer you're in that flu funk the worse you will feel. You don't want to do that to yourself. That kind of thinking just makes it go really slow and like it's never ending.
I also cannot stress enough that drinking lots of water helps you. It cools you off and it gets your blood going. It's also really good for you. The benefits of being well hydrated in general are too various to list let alone being hydrated while sick. I also recommend Vicks ZZZ vapor Rub. It's lavender based so it not only helps with the coughing, it helps for you to relax and go to sleep. This stuff is incredible and it smells pretty good too. It really helped my aches and pains when I put it on my chest and back and best of all, it gave me a good nights sleep.
Again, the flu is not great. But take it from me, a really busy mom, You will make it. You will be fine. Take care of yourself when your sick, so you can be 100% later.
As always,
Love and Lot's of Sprinkles
Melissa
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