So up until last Sunday, I was nailing the whole “blog every day” challenge that I had set myself! Sure, they weren’t all pearlers, but I was getting back into the groove of daily writing and rather enjoying it. But my week was about to go pear-shaped. It started with a sniffle on Sunday afternoon, and by Monday morning I was in the throws of what ended up being a full-blown sinus infection. I don’t really remember much about Monday, other than Darby and Julius stayed home with colds as well, and I pretty much didn’t get out of my bed. My dear friend popped over with some pain relief and made the boys sandwiches for lunch, and they helped themselves to other food during the day, but the only relief came when Marty said he could come down and help out. He arrived around 4:30pm in time to make the kids dinner and do the evening routine, as well as grab me more pain relief (I think??)

Mum and Dad had left early Monday morning for two nights away at Stanthorpe, so Marty being available to come down was a lifesaver. Tuesday morning was horrible and I had a Dr appt at 9:30 which was when I was diagnosed with the sinus infection. The pain was next level, with very little putting a dent in it. I remember crying at one point, and rocking, and putting a cold compress on my eyes as it seemed to help a little. And I just could not get out of bed. I cannot remember the last time I was that unwell.

Going to bed in pain Tuesday night, I thought, surely I’ll start feeling much better tomorrow but I spent another full day in bed, barely able to stomach anything but a bit of raisin toast and fruit. The kids were very wary of me, and would come in to my room each afternoon rather gingerly to see if I had made any improvement. I couldn’t even get to the table for dinners, as sitting up for more than 10 minutes exhausted me. Thursday came, and I was starting to make small improvements, but still spent 90% of the day in bed. I did have a little visit from my friend Kelly, but even that was with me on the couch lying down.

Every morning, Marty would get up with the kids, and do everything that needed to be done, as well as throw on a load of washing, take the kids to school, then try and put in a full day’s work. Then it was pick up time, then he got dinner ready each night and made sure everyone was eating well, then would do the bedtime routine and have them all in bed on time each night. He would then do a bit more work before crashing in with me, and I was always already sleeping. By the third night, if Darby called out, he called out to Marty and not me as he knew Marty would be the one to come in to him! It was such a massive undertaking, but as always, he took it in his stride and just got on with things. I’m so grateful to be with someone who can literally step into my shoes for me for a whole week, and for the kids to be happy and comfortable to go along with it.

By Friday, I could spend a couple of hours at a time out of bed, but still needed plenty of rest. This has continued yesterday and today, with me being more able today to partake in normal life than I have for seven straight days. The trick now is to not overdo it, but to ease back into things. I was very snappy at dinner tonight with the kids, and I know it’s going to take me a while to get back to normal.

I have been feeling increasingly stressed over the past few months, and I could definitely feel my body starting to send out warning signals. Unfortunately I did not pay any attention to those signs, and paid the price. I really do need to accept that I can’t do it all, and can’t keep saying yes to all the things, and that I need to pace myself in this life, as I don’t want to burn out and be no good to anyone.

Thank you Marty for absolutely crushing it. I love doing life with you, particularly when we are both well (!) and feel so damn grateful we found each other.