It’s miraculous and rare when help arrives just in time. That happened at my house on Tuesday afternoon, when my mom flew in for an incredibly short but action-packed visit, during which she cleaned my house, cooked, stocked my fridge with delicious food, took care of my son then vanished by sunrise Thursday morning, long before we’d even managed to have a single mother-daughter fight. Honestly, I really wished she stuck around longer, although she’s probably so tired that she’s passed out on the plane as I write.
We really needed the help. Amos was sick all last week with one of those mysterious stomach bugs that won’t go away. It was scary and exhausting, you know how it sometimes goes. And Amos really wore me out, demanding round-the-clock attention. So needy was he that he’d wake up if I tried to sneak out of the room during his nap times. Nope, not allowed. I was desperate for a break but at the same time didn’t want to be anywhere else, which I think is the secret dilemma of all moms of sick children.
By the time mom arrived, the house was disgusting and the cupboards were bare. (Oh my god y’all, it just took me about 5 minutes to remember how to spell cupboard. I looked it up in the dictionary under “cubbard” and “kubberd” and couldn’t figure out what the deal was. I need more sleep.) The trip was planned a while ago, and normally we would have been prepared. I like to at least run the vacuum for house guests, but she got nothing. Worse than nothing, she got a request to please clean anything she felt like cleaning. And she did it!
She also squeezed in lots of QT with Amos, who delighted in squirting her with the hose and being scared out of his mind when she popped out of closets and behind doors to shriek at him. Sounds terrifying, I know, but Amos is kind of an adrenaline junkie like that. Here’s a shot of them during one of the quieter moments, playing with some magical stickers she brought that don’t stick to the furniture.

Stickers are addictive.
Her plane left at 7:20 this morning, headed to sunny San Diego. Good for her, she deserves it. We’re in good shape now. Thanks for the help. Come back soon!