By Renee Martinez, Founder of Raising Boys World
I used to think having a big family would be a nightmare, but in reality there’s very little about having a big family that frustrates me. All and all, it’s a manageable task to be the mother to four young boys, as long as I stay organized. Sure, I buy a lot of groceries and do a lot of driving, and yes, I realize that it’s only going to get worse.
What’s the most challenging thing about raising four young boys? When one child gets sick and shares the germs, then before you know it, the entire crew is plagued by illness. This happened recently and it wasn’t pretty. First the 5 year-old had a fever, cold and a terrible headache, then it turned into a sinus infection that lasted for days; he was miserable. Soon the 2 year-old followed suit and snot was flowing from his nose constantly. He too was up all night…for days. Fortunately, it didn’t turn into an infection. Then, just when it seemed that the coast might be clear and illness had been evicted from our home, The 8 year-old and 9 month-old guys were sicker than dogs. Same drill. Add in that the baby is teething too. What fun! Needless to say, we went through a lot of fever reducing and pain relieving medicines. I don’t think I slept for days, and coffee was more than my best friend.
When kids are sick, it throws a huge wrench in the schedule. Going to the doctor, picking up prescriptions, yet still managing to help with homework, make dinner, pack lunches, do laundry, organize the house and do some kind of work. No wonder there’s no time for sleep. I used to think that 30-hour days would have been better, but now I realize it wouldn’t.
I have a hard time remembering how I juggled everything before computers, email, cell phones and Internet. How did any work get done? Now, there’s so much more expected because we are capable of immediacy. I think the pace has increased ten-fold. Do we like this pace or was it better before? At the current pace, are we as parents more or less stressed? When our kids are sick, we can still accomplish some things because of technology. What message do we send our sons if we continue to live at this pace?
Next time the children are sick, maybe it’s a good idea to turn off the phones, don’t touch the computer, keep your pajamas on and veg out in front of a good movie under a blanket with your son (or sons). Maybe this way, family illness won’t be as stressful.
About the Author: Renee Martinez is the mother of 4 boys, the founder of RaisingBoysWorld.com, www.socialmediabizsummit.com, and the president of RubyMarCom (www.rubymarcom.com), a boutique marketing communications company. Her business blog (www.lisac95.sg-host.com), provides resources on everything marketing and social media related for her active audience.
Renee is an adjunct professor at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY where she teaches social media marketing in the business school. Find Renee on Twitter at @reneemmartinez.
Photo by BoArthur on Flickr
