It’s always scarier at night

It’s always scarier at night.

This is what I try to remind myself when my anxiety is spiraling out of control in the middle of the night because one of the kids is really sick.

Throwing up is awful, but not worrying because I know it’ll usually pass within a few hours.

Sniffles don’t bother me and neither do colds. Nice, normal little coughs and the odd sneeze? Totally fine.

It’s when the coughing gets bad that I feel myself start to tense up. The tightness starts in my chest and gets worse each time I hear them start to hack across the hall. Then they’re silent. Can they breathe? Wait, another cough. Worse this time …

Continue reading in my weekly parenting column, The Mom Scene …