A Mother's work is never done.

"Mom. Wake up."

"Whaa..." I rolled over to see my son standing by my bed, barely visible in the light from the hallway. The clock read 4:19 am. "What's going on?" I struggled to sit up, tangled in blankets.

"I don't feel so good..."

I instantly threw off the blankets, found my glasses and had the light on before he finished his sentence. A mother knows you have to move quickly when you hear those words, as they are usually followed by nothing good.

I ushered him into the bathroom, and had the seat up in the next 20 seconds.

"No, not like that," he said. "The other way..."

Oh, it suddenly becomes clear. I can fix this. I found the first aid kit, and we went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. I once again tried to teach him how to swallow a pill, but he couldn't do it. Finally, I crushed up the medicine, and mixed it with a spoonful of cottage cheese (I didn't have anything else that would work).

In less than five minutes, he was asleep again, with the hall light left on so he had a clear path to the bathroom.

I should have just stayed up.

I could not go back to sleep. I kept dozing with one ear tuned to the sound of feet hitting the floor. The light from the hall was too bright, so I got up and closed the door. Finally, about 5:30 or so, I started dreaming again.

I was late for work, or maybe I dreamed that I emailed my boss, and then forgot to call the school. I can't remember.

In any case, my dream was about how my day would go if he had to stay home from school. When the alarm went off at 6:10, I barely heard it. Just pressed "snooze" and didn't even bother to roll over. Finally, at 6:45, I decided that I had to get up, and check to see if my son could go to school.

He was perfectly fine, and anxious to get to school (he, unlike most kids, loves to go to school).

I walked around like a zombie for most of the day.

And tonight, right around 8:25, my son tells me again that he doesn't feel very good. He doesn't feel like he has to throw up, or "the Other", but he just doesn't feel right. No fever or anything, but he went to bed right after his bath, and read for just a few minutes before falling asleep.

I really, really, really hope that he isn't sick...