Carol rarely had bad days, but she'd be darned if today wasn't one of those surprising occasions. The night prior, her son, K.O., had a nightmare that led him to tears, which took up much more of her attention than sleep. She did finally dose off (at about five in the morning, which gave her two-and-a-half hours of sleep altogether) after remedying the situation and checking on the child periodically. Unfortunately, both family members woke up exhausted, neither really feeling up for work. So, like any good mother, she called out sick for the both of them.
The first rule of Carol-duty was to make sure K.O. got some more rest. She grabbed and read him his favorite book, which happened to be an A-to-Z picture book of Heroes (by the POW Card Company, of course), and gave him a gentle kiss before he fell asleep, leaving her with at least two hours for things that needed to be done.
The second rule of Carol-duty happened to be making a giant pot of coffee.
After last night's incident, she needed a recharge. She then added half a cup of sugar to get her day started. She cleaned up parts of K.O.'s room, the bathroom, and the kitchen. While she didn't harness the enthusiasm for organisation like her son, it sure was a good way to pass the time, and shortly after, K.O. had woken up.
Carol told him a nice "Good morning, Dumbbell!" gave him a kiss on his forehead, and poured him a small bowl of his favorite cereal. The boy thankfully took the Dino Flakes and a spoon from the drawer before getting up and hugging his mother.
Sure, today wasn't a great day, but it could have been so much worse.