Do Moms get sick days?

So I have been sick this week, and on Wednesday I felt very, very terrible. Brooks had the same illness on Monday, called in sick, and spent the entire day lying in bed reading the new Twilight book (which he ended up finishing before I did!), while I ran around the house busily cleaning up after our 4 day camping and river trip (lots of smelly campfire laundry!). I was happy to give him a sick R&R day b/c I wasn't sick yet. Two mornings later it was my turn to be sick. Brooks already took a day off, so staying home was not an option. It was only 8am and I felt like my head was going to explode, should be a great reason to call in sick. But who, who do I call in sick to? Do Mom's get sick days I kept thinking all day. I longed to be in bed, sipping orange juice and having someone bring me toast, but I could only imagine with horror what my children would do to the house and neighborhood if I stayed in bed all day. Zoe did give me lots of hugs, and Jonah did fill up a tennis ball container with water for me while I was laying on the couch for one tiny minute, but I definitely wouldn't call it an R&R day. I am reminded of this funny story someone e-mailed me a few months ago...

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still In their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.
He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.
As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today!?"
She again smiled and answered, "You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?"
"Yes," was his incredulous reply.
She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it."

Thankfully Brooks has never asked me what I do all day. Quite the opposite. When Jonah was first born and the twins were 19 months old, he used to tell me before he'd go to work, "just keep them alive today honey." That was the only goal at that time, to just keep the 3 children alive. It's easier now and I've moved on to loftier goals, like comb their hair, but every Mom knows it's a very full time job to keep a household running. And if every Dad doesn't know, just maybe very soon you should try the above little experiment.
Here's to wishing and hoping a Mom can call in sick every once in a while!