Missing Out on Playtime

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Yesterday I spent the day at home, down with cough, colds, a migraine and a slight fever. It really sucked. The frustrating part wasn’t the incessant coughing, the frequent blowing of the nose, the need to sleep every 10 minutes or the annoying piercing pain in the head. I can handle all those with some medicine, a dark room and sleep. What was most frustrating was being at home with my son and not getting to play with him at all.

“Mommy, can you play with me?” Timmy’s playtime requests are common, and we usually end up playing pretend with his dinosaur figures, Avengers toys and Peppa Pig characters. Sometimes I’m  Teacher Mommy, and he’s a student in the classroom with his classmates (stuffed toys) all lined up in a row to listen to that day’s lesson. I enjoy those little moments and cherish them so much, so yesterday was a huge bummer because I couldn’t even answer him properly. I had no voice, if I tried to speak it would come out in hacking coughs, and the little that we played together I ended up falling asleep.

Nurture Yourself, Nurture Others

Yesterday was the sickest I’ve been in a long time, and the only time I could hardly play with my son. He was disappointed I couldn’t even sit up and play along, but understood I needed to sleep. One of the things we ended up doing was him playing on the XBox, while I napped a bit.

Not my ideal way to spend time with him, but when I'm down with a migraine/cough/colds, this is our way to still stay together.

Not my ideal way to spend time with him, but when I’m down with a migraine/cough/colds, this is our way to still stay together.

Yesterday was an eye opener to me to take better care of myself so I don’t lose out on time with my little boy.

I need to nurture myself better so I don’t miss out on pretend play, like crossing a suspension bridge in full gear.

My Musketeer

My Musketeer

Or just plain being silly in the toy store.

My Handsome Hulk.

My Handsome Hulk.

Even quiet times are to be cherished. My quiet time with a cup of coffee, and he with his toys.

IMG_7624

Me and my date.

Even coloring together is priceless. I was so weak yesterday I couldn’t even pick up a crayon. So looking back at this picture from last weekend, it motivated me even more to get better already.

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He colors Hulk, I color Ironman.

Quiet times also involve reading time. He asked me several times yesterday to read with him, and I couldn’t. Ugh. Yet another motivation to be well — to be able to read stories with my son.

My Bookworm

My Bookworm

Getting better would also include just plain being crazy before bedtime. The past few nights my bedtime has been way earlier than his, so I miss out on the little playtime we usually have before bed.

Timmy the Sheep

Timmy the Sheep

“Wifey, pagaling ka na para tuloy tayo sa Sunday,” my husband said. (Wifey, get better so we push through with our plans on Sunday.) It’s our 12th wedding anniversary this Sunday! I have to get better because we have breakfast plans! That’s another thing I can’t miss out on — spending time away from home with the family.

Me and my date. He's growing up so fast.

Me and my date one weekend. He’s growing up so fast.

My little boy is still sleeping as I write this, and I’m now off to bed again to heal myself some more.

I guess what’s changed is that before, I’d want to get better so I can do the usual chores, be strong enough to get through the day with the to-do list intact. But with Timmy interacting more and more, it gives me even more fuel to get better sooner! So I don’t miss out on playtime with him and bond with him the times I’m home.

Now let me go sleep and nurture myself before the boy wakes up. That way, we’ll both start the day with bright eyes and bright smiles. Hopefully my cough and migraine have said their goodbyes too.

2 Comments on Missing Out on Playtime

  1. Daphne
    May 22, 2015 at 11:09 am (9 years ago)

    Awww hope you feel better soon, plans await! Load up on vitamin C, get plenty of rest (a bit hard to do with a toddler wanting to play) and hopefully you will be in tip top shape for your anniversary :)

    P.S
    I hope that Timmy’s immune system is strong enough so he won’t get what you have. *knocks on wood*
    Daphne´s last blog post ..May 15, 2015: Seven years

    Reply
    • Toni
      May 29, 2015 at 10:46 am (9 years ago)

      Thanks Daphne! I’ve recovered from my nasty cough and thankfully Timmy was protected. *hugs*

      Reply

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