Dear Mama,

Know the old saying, "when it rains, it pours"? I'm here to tell you... it's 100% true. The good old Facebook Timehop feature always brings a smile to my face by showing me baby photos of my daughter and snapshots of my dog that has passed away. It also reminded me that this week - the beginning/middle of February - it's my Raining... NO, it's Freaking POURING Week!

Every year about this time, we fight some sort of bug in our home. And it goes from person to person to person. Guess who is the one who primarily has to deal with the fallout? Me. The mama. And I know a lot of you (moms, dads, grands raising grandkids) are in the same boat.

The order varies from year-to-year but it goes something like this...

1. I get sick. I'm down and out for a couple days.

2. The laundry piles up. The dishes pile up. The dog fur really piles up.

3. My husband tries to keep up but as the primary bread winner in our family. he's limited by his work schedule. And though he attempts to feed and care for me, chicken soup out of a can just is a hard NO for me.

4. Then he starts to feel the tickle. Then the ache. Then the yuck. Another one bites the dust.

5. I start feeling better just in time to hear, "Mama, I don't feel good." Gah... Come'on, kid!

6. There's that pesky WORK thing I have to deal with. Thankfully, I'm in a job where I can work at home if I need to - unless I have important meetings. Guess who has ALL the important meetings this week...

7. I frantically call my in-laws to see if they'd like to hang out with MY sick kid for the day. Oh, please cancel your plans to come soak in all the viruses at my germy house! Or I can call my mom to race over from Masonsville, KY. She loves that phone call at 6 a.m.

8. And during all this, I'm still sick from my initial virus. Not sick enough to lay in bed all day. Just sick enough to feel sorta lousy. Gotta get to that laundry.

And being sick is very rarely the only thing that I deal with in hell week. Last and this week have been a roller coaster! I was sick - then I had FOOD POISONING. Unless you've had the demon known as NOROVIRUS possess your guts, just don't even pretend to know what agony that is. To top it off, we are dealing with the inevitable. I have to put our 13-year-old dog down. Who wants to make that call?

Then there's just all the injustices of life to deal with. Car due for a breakdown? Let's.... just... schedule that for hell week! Big winter bills? Um, I think the best time to drop those on me is mid-February! Oh, and don't even get me started on this weather... rain rain rain rain rain. Dreary much?!

And guess what, book reports don't stop because I'm sick. After school activities don't stop because I feel like poop. I'm still expected to deliver these life-changing articles to you, dear reader! So, here we are... Yes, Here. We. Are.

But honestly, I have it pretty good. I have a husband and family who are supportive. I have a pretty healthy kid. I have a great job that is flexible. NOT EVERYONE HAS THESE THINGS. So, I feel very blessed. But that doesn't mean that I don't feel overwhelmed from time to time when the flood gates open and I'm hit hard. I always think about that scene in The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood when Sid's mama wakes up to kids puking, and coughing, and pooping all around her. She tries to handle it all but then puts her hands on her head and just starts singing to herself to keep from breaking down. I've been there. I know how it feels when life just get so overwhelming you don't know where to turn.

It's a good reminder that we all fight our own battles and whether your war falls in the second week in February or third week of July or just about every week of the year, being kind to one another is paramount.

So, hang in there. We are strong and as my grandma always said, this too shall pass.

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