Being a mom

 Being a mom while sick is a different kind of exhaustion.

There is no calling out.
No sick day.
No quiet room to disappear into.

Your head is pounding, your body aches, your throat burns and still little hands need snacks, diapers need changing, questions need answers, tears need comfort.

You do it anyway.

You mother through the fever.
You cuddle through the chills.
You whisper bedtime stories with no voice left.

And somehow you still feel guilty for needing rest.

If you are doing motherhood sick right now, surviving on the bare minimum and giving what little you have left, I see you.
You are not weak for slowing down.
You are not failing because the house is a mess.

You are strong in the quiet way.
The kind that keeps showing up even when it hurts.