March 12, 2012 | 4:19 am

Mom vs. Mooooooooooom

Posted by Ilana Angel

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My son started to not feel good last week.  He was stuffed up, had a sore throat, and was achy.  I figured he was catching a cold, or perhaps just run down as his schedule with school, homework, extracurricular activities, and an insane social life, was taking a toll.  I kept him home from school for a day so he could rest.  That was the beginning.

Monday he stayed home and Tuesday he was back at school.  He was calling me Mom so I was not worried.  He was not feeling 100%, but sickness had not settled in.  By Wednesday he slept in and went to school late.  By Thursday, Mom was starting to sound different.  I can tell when he is getting sick by how long it takes to say Mom.

It became clear this was more than a cold, or exhaustion, so we went to see the doctor.  My darling boy had both an ear infection and a sinus infection. He went on antibiotics, stayed home another day, and got some much needed rest. He spent the weekend being lazy, getting rest, catching up on homework, and getting pampered by good old Mom.

He went from I’m okay Mom, to I’m not feeling good Moooom, to I think I need to stay home Mooooooom, and the weekend began with I need soup Mooooooooooooooooom.  It was actually quite funny.  I was able to gage how he was feeling by how he pronounced my favorite word.  Interesting how your favorite word can be made to sound so annoying.

My son is a remarkable human being and I love more that I ever thought I could love anyone.  He is perfect to me and I am proud of how I have raised him.  He is becoming a truly wonderful man and I know his wife will call me one day to say thank you.  I just hope she figures it out and calls before she has to deal with him being sick.  That changes everything.

If her favorite word is Honey, it will quickly become Hoooooooooooney, and she will be annoyed.  A sick man is not cute.  They whine, complain, and are rather unpleasant.  You can’t laugh at them because it just pisses them off, but it truly is funny.  Strong men, who can do anything, revert to being helpless babies and it’s fascinating.

When I’m sick I do laundry, cook dinner, go to work, and don’t complain. When it comes to how we handle being sick, men are the weaker sex.  It’s not their fault, so God bless them.  My son is feeling great and when he went to bed telling me I love you Mom, I knew he was well.  I love my son and truth be told his being sick is not that bad.

Of course I want him to always be healthy, but if the common cold can send him back to his childhood, when snuggling with his Mom was cool, then I can handle it and hope he gets a cold at least once a year so I can hear the musical beauty of the word Moooooooooom.  I’m happy my boy is better.  I am wishing him good health, and keeping the faith.