Helping our friends

When my oldest was about 14 months old, I was really sick. My husband was on recruiter duty and couldn't come home to take care of her (they gave him so much grief when I had food poisoning and he came to take care of her and me. Apparently I was supposed to set up toys in the bathroom so I could keep an eye on her while I had my head in the toilet!) I was part of a MOMS Club and put the word out that I needed someone to take her for a few hours because I was badly in need of a nap. I said I didn't care if they stayed at my house or went to their house, I just wanted to sleep. I was part of a babysitting co-op and had amassed quite a few babysitting bucks because I was watching other moms' kids a lot.

Not one person helped. They were all scared their child would get sick (my child wasn't sick), and said that's what family was for. Uhh, yeah, I didn't have family in the area, I was on my own. It sucked, but I got through it. However, I didn't get bitter. I know some moms think that because they had a hard time of it, other moms should, and I think that's stupid and mean. If you're having a hard time of things, other moms should want to help you! I don't think coming over to take care of a well child so a friend can get a nap while sick is a lot to ask, I've certainly done more.

When we lived in Pittsburgh I had a friend who has no children (just cute doggies!) Once while her husband was out of town for work, she got really sick with a stomach bug. She was scared, and called me to bring her tylenol. I brought her the tylenol, made her matzo ball soup, washed her dishes, and went with her while she walked her dog (she wanted to do it, otherwise I would have. Her dog was so worried about her, I'm not sure he would have left my friend.) When I was sick, she came over to help me. She took my dog to stay at her house so it was one less thing I had to worry about while my head hung in the toilet. She minimizes how helpful it was, but when you're sick and have 2 kids and a dog, taking one of the living breathing things reliant on you to care for them, it's VERY helpful for the worries.

I think that mothers, and friends, should be willing to pop a few extra vitamin C tablets, a few probiotics, whatever your immune system booster of choice is, and help their friends! I was watching "RuPaul's Drag Race" last night (it's awesome, don't judge!) and one of the girls, Sonique, said something that was SO true! I'm paraphrasing, but basically, if your friend is having trouble with something, you need to help them. If your friend is looking a hot mess, it's not being a friend to sit back and watch them crash and burn.