Mother’s Day 2012 – One for the Books

When C came home from work on Friday with a 101 degree fever, I knew that any potential Mother’s Day plans were going to have to be… revisited. We don’t usually make a huge deal out of these kinds of holidays – maybe just a little dinner with my in-laws, and/or a nice family outing to a park or to the local Tulip Festival.

But I could tell just from looking at my husband that he was not doing well, and that even a Sunday family get-together might be out of the question this year.

On Saturday, after a feverish and uncomfortable night (and despite my request that he stay home and rest), C went to work. Emmy and I spent the day together, and had quite a bit of fun going to two local playgrounds and a local farm that was having a family-friendly baby animal day.

Saturday night, C came home from work and basically got right into bed. He did not seem well at all.

On Sunday, I wanted to give my husband space and time to relax and just stay in bed, so I took Emmy out to another playground and then to the Tulip Festival. We really had a great time together (save a few toddler melt downs, which is kind of par for the course these days). We listened to music (and danced a little), ate some crappy festival food, worked on some crafts in the kids’ tent, and people watched together. I tried talking to Emmy about some of the fantastic and outrageous outfits people were wearing, but she wouldn’t really participate in the conversation. I guess I have to wait a few more years for that to happen.

A big gray cloud started looming over the festival grounds, so I decided that it was best for Emmy and me to call it quits, especially because I was stroller-less, and didn’t think running through the rain with Emmy in my arms was going to be good for me or the little peanut growing inside me. Em fell asleep on my shoulder, with her arms wrapped around my neck, as we made our way back to the car. With her little head nuzzled deep into my neck, and the sound of the festival music still lingering in the air, I took a minute to appreciate the love I was feeling for my daughter. THAT was a real Mother’s Day moment.

When we got back home, C was in really bad shape. And I mean REALLY BAD. He was running a 104 degree temperature and felt like he was having trouble breathing and moving. He was understandably shaken, and I felt terrible for having left him alone for so long. With a little effort, we got him up and moving, and with his mom’s help (thank you, Mom), we took him to the ER at one of the Albany hospitals. I really did my best to keep my hormonal, worried self in check (I cry whenever I watch an episode of Nurse Jackie these days). I think the adrenaline of the situation, and just wanting to protect my husband and make sure he got whatever he needed to feel better, made me buck up and not fall to pieces (but as I write the story down today, I start crying like a baby. Go figure).

The ER ended up running a crazy amount of tests on C: An EKG, chest x-rays, blood work and cultures. They gave him I.V. fluids and checked all his vitals (which thank goodness were all fine).  When the doctor couldn’t find an obvious source of C’s fever and pounding headache, he suggested a spinal tap, to rule out meningitis. Poor C. He was really put through the ringer, and through it all he kept breaking fevers right and left. When C left the room for a moment before they began the spinal tap, I prayed. I really don’t pray often at all, but in that moment I prayed with my entire heart and body that C would be ok.

Thank goodness, C does NOT have meningitis. We are waiting to hear back on some of the blood work and cultures that were taken. We are hoping to rule out Lyme disease and some other not-so-friendly infections. I guess the best case scenario would be that C just contracted a weird viral fever, and that hopefully, with a little TLC (which I will have to force upon him because he is so horrible about resting), he’ll be feeling better by the end of this week.

It was a tough afternoon and evening. But as I was sitting there next to my husband in the ER, I had another moment. I recognized that this kind of love – the kind where you will do ANYTHING to help the other person, the kind that makes you pray (even though you are not the praying kind) that the person you adore will get better PRONTO – this kind of familial love is what Mother’s Day is all about.

So it was an unconventional celebration of sorts. I DID tell C that for next year’s Mother’s Day, I would prefer to just go out for a nice dinner, and that I didn’t need him to make all this fuss just to make the day memorable. Something tells me that he would be okay with that, too.

I love my daughter. I love my husband. I love being a mother and a wife, and having all this love in my life.

Happy belated Mother’s Day to all the mamas out there, and to those who might not be mamas, but who feel like mamas to someone or something in their lives.