Being sick in college is hard enough. You miss lectures, recitations, exams, quizzes, etc. and there’s no excuse that really works besides “I’m in the hospital.” In high school, it was easy to give the bullsh*t excuses that you were surprised work, but in college, your professors follow everything by the syllabus. Personal circumstances are not really taken into account, but instead the email response will simply read, “Please refer to the syllabus for instructions on how to make up exams”…or something like that. On top of all of your classes, if you're in any extracurriculars, clubs, or other obligations, you're MIA for those too. Take it from me, the girl who missed her sorority initiation because of illness, being sick in college sucks.
When your head is pounding and your stomach feels like a WWE wrestler is using your insides as punching bags, you just want the pain to stop and to never feel sick like that again. You do all of the right things. Eat bowls on bowls of chicken soup, take Tylenol every 4 hours as directed, and keep a trash bin nearby so you don't accidentally make your dorm room smell like a dumpster. Your friends bring you medicine and offer to get you anything you could possibly need, but you still don't feel better. If we’re being honest, we can all admit that all we want when we’re sick is our moms.
Looking back on what made me feel better when I was younger and at home, theres one thing that is a constant, my mom. Taking my temperature, pulse, and honestly just being my personal WebMD, moms just have a knack for caregiving. Now, that’s not to say that dads can’t be successful in taking care of their sick children, but I know when I’m sick, my mom is the only one I want when I feel like sh*t.
The second I feel a fever coming or that part of my body that I injured falling off of an elevated surface starts to swell, I call my mom. She knows my normal blood pressure, blood type, and everything else there is to know about me. That’s what moms do. They know their children. According to Merriam-Webster, a caregiver is “a person who gives help and protection to someone (such as a child, an old person, or someone who is sick)”. If you look up “mom” in the dictionary, I’m pretty sure caregiver is included in the definition. Your mom knows you better than anyone in the world. She points out mannerisms that you didn't even know you did. She knows exactly what will make you feel better and what will make you feel worse. There is no one who can beat a mom in the caregiving department, not even a professional in my opinion. You are always going to want your mom next to you when you feel like sh*t, it’s just a thing…and I hope it never changes.
