This week, my children caught one parents’ nightmare: gastroenteritis (yes, what a glorious moment to tell about!).

I was up almost all night, I cleaned dirty sheets, gave comfort, wiped… and barely slept. I didn’t really think straight in the morning and I faced the truth: both of my kids were not in shape to go to the daycare centre (and I’m pretty sure nobody there wanted to see them).

So, my boyfriend or I needed to take a day off work.

Hopefully, if I can say so, since I am a PhD student and that almost all my TAship is over, I was able to stay home without problems. Looking at a lot of friends who can have problems if they miss work to take care of their kids, I must say I consider myself in a privileged position.

My children were able to heal at home: we watched a movie while I tried to write, we played outside (It was THE warm and sunny day) and more importantly, they rested.

Is all well? Apart from the fact I was doing “dirty” work all day long, I will have to make up for this day at some point during the night in order to be sure to be on time with a paper due date. Still, not having to be scared of losing my job – or just facing reproach – I was happy.

Is being in grad school gives you some advantage in daily life?

Photo by @fanniedionne // @gradlifemcgill