The Energizer Bunny - Does He Bring Chocolate Too?

This is a repost from my blog originally written on Feb. 21, 2010. With the end of the week coming upon us once again, I am feeling the effects of a long week. Writing this piece was cathartic for me so I like to reread it at the week's end to remind myself of exactly where I need to be and what I need to do to take care of someone special...ME!

This week was the week where pretty much everything that requires batteries in the house needed battery replacement. From the toddler toys that have an unusual capacity to engage kids with a multitude of lights while playing music only a toddler could love, to my daughter's portable keyboard to my small Nikon digital camera (because my DSLRdoesn't fit well in my handbag.) And yet, the one thing in our home that REALLY needed a recharge couldn't...me.

It was one of those weeks where as a mom who works outside of the home full-time, I became acutely aware of being on my own 98% of the time in caring for my two little charges. A couple of weeks ago, both kids had battled severe colds and as a result I was home from work caring for them. This past week I was busy trying to play immense catch up at work while their dad came down with a cold and stayed away so as to not reinfect the household. His visits are typically every couple of days for a few hours and longer on the weekends. I was surprised at what a difference even those few hours make.

A full week of waking at 5 am to ensure an uninterrupted 6 minute shower (with conditioner if I'm lucky!) followed by the symbiotic making of baby bottles and a travel mug of coffee. A full week of waking a six year old for school after an evening of trying to get her into bed at a decent hour (though I must say her behaviour on Thursday and Friday was nothing short of perfection...she must have sensed my fatigue.) A full week of getting two kids dressed and off to school and daycare, managing traffic to get to work on time, an onslaught of demands from work, racing to get back in time to meet the emotional needs of my 10 month old and the karate needs of my 6 year old, dinners made (or ordered), baths done, stories read, little heads rested on pillows, checking work e-mail, and preparing for the following day and finally falling asleep sometime after the 11 o'clock news. A full week of missing their dad's presence, diminished as it is compared to when he lived with us, to offset being the only grown up in the house. A full week of missing their dad. Period.

Somehow each day I found enough fuel in the laughter brought on by the games of chase and peek-a-boo, the little smiles looking up at me when I brought out an ice cream sandwich from the freezer after dinner, and the gentle sighs of my babies' slumber. Okay, and in coffee. And on Friday...I hit a wall. I had a day of no scheduled work appointments but rather a morning spent in the dojo followed by meeting with my phenomenal work teammates for a luncheon out. I would think this would have been in many ways a restful day but it turned into the day where it all caught up with me. Batteries drained. Batteries dead. No recharge outlet available. Nausea, tension, dehydration...migraine. On the plus side, my daughter was having a sleepover at her aunt's house. My husband visited and did his best to take care of me while he was here...but then he left. I snuggled up to our son and fell asleep Friday night at the early hour of 9 pm.

And on Saturday I found a temporary charging station. After a fun breakfast at home with my son, the two of us headed out to join my daughter at my sister's place. There's just something so rejuvenating about being with someone who knew you when you were young. When we both had the energy level and relatively innocent view of the world our children do now. To sit and eat together. To rock our children to an afternoon nap together where by some miraculous gift we were given two plus hours with three children asleep and Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice to watch on DVR. The kids and I didn't get home until dark and I found my headache gone and my body rested. Only my heart remained on a yellow light.

I know where my heart is recharged. And I am hoping, one day, it is recharged at home as it used to be. But even if it's not, I will be recharged fully because my two energy cells are growing in their own capacity to love and laugh and be happy every day. And I'm figuring out the technology required to become solar powered. And that's very much a green light.

Tags: exhaustion, karate, migraine, recharge, work

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