Earlier this week I came down with what I suspect was food posioning. Luckily my husband was able to come home from work a little earlier than normal that day to take over the childcare so I could go to bed. The next morning I was still feeling pretty awful. It is at times like these that I gain an appreciation for those who have family nearby (both sides of our family live out of the country).
My son goes to nursery in the afternoons so after my husband left (later than usual) for work, I struggled through the morning at home. I decided to ask a friend across the road (whose child attends the same class) if my son could go to nursery with them to save me making the walk. She was very happy to help me out and came to pick him up so I didn't even need to take him across to their house. It was greatly appreciated, as I was able to put my daughter down for her nap and then get some sleep myself.
We have lived in our current home for less than a year but thankfully I have made some friends here in that time. I have some people I feel comfortable calling on in times of need and with whom I'd be at ease leaving my children for a short amount of time if needed. This week I was reminded how important it is to build up some sort of support network close to home, especially if, like us, you don't have family close by.
People can be shy about asking for help, myself included probably. Yet, I am always happy and willing to do a favour for a friend in need and as we often hear, that is what friends are for. If you have family nearby then I am sure you wouldn't think twice about asking for a hand if you need one. People generally are willing and pleased to help out so we should remember that instead of feeling bad about asking them.
Who is your help at hand in times of need? Do you have family nearby? Do you have a nanny or regular babysitter you can always call up or like me, do you tend to rely on good friends for assistance on the odd occasion? Have you had a particular situation where you have really been thankful for your support network, whether that be family or friends?
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My sympathies - food poisoning is the worst. I hope you're feeling better now, it can take a fair while to feel completely human again.
ReplyDeleteSupport networks, that's a tough one for us sometimes. My family are in a different part of the country, but the in-laws aren't too far. It's not always possible to call on them though, so it can be tough. I have a couple of friends close-by I could call on in an emergency, but I struggle with doing so. I'm rubbish like that (though I absolutely would for food poisoning!)
That said, I'm a little bit careful these days after "the odd occasion" with one person turned into rather more than that. You and I blatantly wouldn't take advantage, but not everyone is without shame in that respect :) xx
Thank you, all better now but it wasn't a lot of fun!
DeleteSounds like you have a couple of options with in-laws sometimes available and a couple of nearby friends. You're definitely not the only one to struggle asking for help, I'm not sure why we find it difficult... xx
Yikes - food poisoning sounds terrible - glad you're all better now!
ReplyDeleteI must admit that I feel very guilty about asking other people (i.e. anyone who's not my wife) to help me with my children. It makes me feel that I'm not doing a good enough job, and also there's the idea that only me and my wife love and look after our girls better than anyone else can in the way that we feel is best for them.
That said, we do really heavily on nursery and my in-laws. I resent needing to turn to both, but I suppose I should be grateful that they're there.
There is an ex day care lady who lives nearby. Whereas my wife would be comfortable with calling on her in emergencies, I have serious reservation. We didn't fire her without reason...
Thanks for reading and leaving a comment :-). You make a good point about feeling like only you and your wife look after the girls better than anyone else can. I think that's a pretty natural feeling. I've become a bit more relaxed about that side of things since having my second child but at the same time, I do have to be pretty desperate to allow others to look after them!
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