Feeling very much like a mom . . .

This week has been especially interesting for me. Every part of me is feeling like a mom. (I suppose that's good, since I AM one!) Monday night of this week I noticed Marci wasn't quite himself. He didn't have as much energy as he normally does and he felt a little warm. I took his temperature and it was 102.4. I immediately sent Bruce to the store to get some Children's Tylenol and some cough syrup (Marci was coughing a little at that point). I also called one of my dearest friends (who has been a mother for 22 years) and asked her if Children's Tylenol was what she would have recommended. (This first-time mom just wanted to be sure, you know!) 

We gave Marci the medicine and he slept soundly Monday night. He woke up on Tuesday with no fever, but a little more of the cough and some stuffiness. Okay, so he had a cold. I could deal with that. No problem. I continued to give him the cough medicine (sporadically, because I am one of those moms who likes to let the body do it's own thing and try to kick out colds and infections without too many medications), and he seemed to feel fine. Later that afternoon, however, his fever started to come back. But he woke up Wednesday with no fever again and went longer into the day before he seemed to run out of steam. Yesterday was the same thing. In fact, I thought we were going to make it through the entire day without a fever, but in the late afternoon his fever had popped back again (only 100.4 this time). 

So now the question becomes...Do I take him to the doctor today and have her tell me it's just a cold and it will run its course? Or do I wait through the weekend and pray his fever doesn't get worse and we have to take him to the emergency room? 

It dawned on me this morning that these are some of the things moms deal with every day. What is the right thing to do? What if I choose the wrong thing? 

Now don't get me wrong. Bruce is in the mix on the decision-making process here. We've talked about it and our decision is to wait and see what the rest of the morning brings. If he seems to be getting worse, I'll take him to the doctor before the weekend gets here. If he seems to be about the same, we'll keep him home and pray the Lord protects him from getting any worse over the weekend. 

But it just hit me this morning that I am now facing all the things that moms for many generations have faced. I have to admit that having a sick child never entered my mind when we were in the adoption process. Somehow you overlook the day-to-day things you might run up against. You only look at the good things, or the main issues that are staring you in the face at the time (i.e. Marci's hearing impairment). 

Thankfully for us, Marci handles colds and sickness really well. He's actually pretty pleasant and continues to have energy (just not as much as he normally has). I'm grateful for that. And I'm grateful for another learning opportunity God has given me. Watching our child as he feels "icky" isn't fun. All I want is for him to get better and be able to do the things he normally does. But it's a good experience for me as a mom. I'm learning to lean on the Lord in these everyday situations and trust Him to guide me in the right things to do. 

Hmmm....so THIS is what a mom feels like! : )