This week I’ve been sick. Not just a little bit sick but ‘show-stopping sick’ where I’ve got a splitting headache, raw throat and a nose that feels like I’ve been doing lines of Siracha. I don’t deal well with being unwell. I’m so used to being capable that I find being incapacitated incredibly frustrating, especially during the first week of the school holidays.
My normal reflections on the school holidays involve trying to achieve some kind of balance and equilibrium with working and parenting in the same space. This year, I’ve had the luxury of having part time work at the Tech School so last school holidays I managed to take a week off and all I really had to do was hang out with the kids. I envy the simplicity and carefree nature of this plan. It was fun and fulfilling.
There was no planning for these current school holidays and I’m glad because everything would have gone in the chuck-it bucket. It started with Alice vomiting everywhere at 1am on Monday morning, then Frank having a fever but not vomiting an hour later. I was about 12 hours behind the kids tracing their symptoms almost exactly. This often happens with family illness, the kids get something and you know that it will most likely take 2-3 weeks to work its way through every member of the family. I was surprised to be part of the first wave.
This belt of sickness had its benefits by landing in the first week of the holidays. For starters, with no plans or budget for activities, we didn’t have to reschedule anything. I had the first week off anyway so there is no need to take leave and all the kids really want to do during the holidays is watch devices. From their perspective, being sick gave them the perfect excuse to sit on the couch for hours on end and watch mindless TV.
This worked out well for me because coincidentally, I had a week of full time design work on my plate. Despite the fact that it felt like my sinuses were going to fall from my face, I spend 8 hours a day at my computer. Matt had a project on also so (annoyingly) he was doing the same. I hate it when this happens - both parents are at their computers when the kids are around. It's like when you see people dining at a restaurant but everyone is on their phones.
I work super hard at being present when I‘m with the kids. I don’t keep my phone on me when we’re hanging out at home and I don’t usually work at night - or if I do, it's after they’ve gone to bed. The last 5 days I’ve spent ALL day at my desk taking breaks only for lunch and to detangle any punch ups that have occurred. Luckily, with both kids feeling so rubbish their fights have been lacklustre and both have been quite content retreating to their own nest and programming set up.
It's been quite sweet to watch them move around the house together finding the comfy spots. They start off in their own rooms, watching their own programs on various devices. Alice is on a trip down memory lane rewatching Bluey and Frank has managed to convince us that he needs to watch an extremely violent manga called ‘Attack on Titans’. He has read the comic and as a way of encouraging more reading, we said yes - we can regret this decision later on. At the moment, it keeps him entertained for hours.
After about 30 to 45 minutes, one of them will start to wander into the other kids room and see what they're watching. They ultimately end up sitting on top of each other watching a different program together. It reminds me of my sister. We’d pretty much sit on top of each other when we were watching TV together. We still do it now when we’re in the same room. It is a sibling thing. Just wanting to be close. It will last for another 30-45 minutes before either Frank or Alice crack it and another fight will break out but that can be a good 2-3 hours of billable time from my perspective.
It's certainly not ideal working, being sick and on school holidays all at once but if there was ever a week to do it all, this would be it. I’m grateful that the kids are older now and more independent. While I feel bad about the lack of attention I’ve given them, they couldn’t really care less and have enjoyed the benign neglect we’ve shown them these holidays. There have been enough long cuddles on the couch and moments of affection that they still feel loved and cared for.
The reality is that you have to make hay while the sun shines - ironic even in the middle of a Ballarat winter. I’ve made more money this week than 6 weeks of work at the Tech School. As the sole income earner for my family right now, this isn’t a choice but a necessity and I’m so grateful that there is finally some great design work to be done. And thank fuck, the universe arranged for it all to happen in a week where no one could be bothered or had the energy to do anything else and finally, sealed the deal by having it freezing cold and raining everyday. The couch never looked so good.
