Baby E stared lovingly at the nurse as she called him back to the triage room at the Urgent Care the other night. She was wearing  a medical mask over her nose and mouth. Her long brown hair was pulled up into a pony tail. “Julie! Julie!” He exclaimed with a huge grin on his face.

Baby E was convinced that he was looking at my sister, his Aunt Julie.

Now typically Baby E is not a huge fan of strangers. He looks with suspicion on anyone that comes near him, and this even reaches at times to his extended family. But since he was completely convinced that he was in the company of one of his favorite people in the world, he was completely relaxed. The nurse was able to do all the parts of the checkup on him, as he stared dreamily up at her face, smiling and flirting as she worked.

That was Thursday. This is now Monday.

Four days on the antibiotics and Baby E has been having a hard time kicking his cough, so we decided to take him to his pediatrician this morning. Apparently the, ahem, lovely doctor at the Urgent Care gave him a very mild antibiotic that didn’t actually help him all that much, so now Baby E is on a stronger antibiotic and a steroid inhaler (on top of his albuterol inhaler) and is continuing with the eye drops. So yeah, he’s a mess. Poor kid!

 

C’s homework this week is on the night sky, so C, Big E, and I took a walk this evening to observe the moon and the stars. I am particularly fond of the winter night sky because it has Orion, the one and only constellation I can actually pick out. (Well, I can pick out the dippers, but I have no idea which one I’m looking at- Big or Little.) It was fun to explain to the kids about constellations and show them pictures on the phone of the constellation drawn out. They could compare it to what they saw in the sky. After we came in, C was able to draw her observations on her paper. We have to do it for the next several nights to see how the night sky changes. 🙂

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/lovingly/

Tuesday is the 100th day of C’s school year. In celebration, the students are supposed to wear a shirt that they have decorated with 100 things. Today I picked up a shirt and supplies and we spent the evening working on it. We landed on 100 googly-eyed faces. She enjoyed drawing the faces on each of the little people. After she was finished, she modeled the shirt and loved the fact that the eyes made a shaking noise as she wiggled. 🙂 She is looking forward to wearing it in a couple of days!

Good job, C!!

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/craft/

The air was cold when I stepped out of my house the other morning, and I felt it seeping through my clothes as I ran to my van. I turned the key and I noticed the gas tank was on empty and I chided myself for not filling up the night before. I was running a few minutes late and the extra stop would only add to my already long commute. I pulled into the gas station while mentally recalculating the time it would take to get to work when an older woman got out of the car next to me. Her heavy winter coat hung down to her knees and her hair was neatly tucked into a scarf that covered her head. Even though the years were traced on her face, her makeup was immaculate. With money clutched in her hand, I watched her slowly limp towards the storefront to pay for her fuel.

Pump her gas…

What?? I shook off the notion as I reminded myself that I was already running late and doing that was sure to further lengthen my commute.

Pump her gas…

I frowned, What if she thinks that’s strange? I looked up and she was standing at the counter. I got out and began the chore of filling my own gas tank. I shivered as I stood in the cold, wondering where I had put my coat.

Pump her gas. 

I watched as she left the store, making her way back to her car, each step an effort as she recrossed the parking lot.

Pump her gas!! 

Fine!! I took a deep breath, walked away from my comfort zone and straight towards the woman.

“Excuse me Ma’am, may I pump your gas?”

She looked up at me and smiled. “Are you sure? That would be nice!”

“I don’t mind,” I replied. “Besides, it’s cold, you could wait in your car if you’d like and stay warm.”

“I don’t mind the cold,” She smiled at me as I unscrewed the cap on her car and started pumping her gas. “This is very kind of you. I fell last week. It’s getting better, but it still hurts to walk. It’s been difficult.Why are you doing this? I really hope someone does something nice for you.”

“They already have!” She looked at me quizzically and before I knew it, I blurted out ,”Our family went through a rough patch recently. I was pregnant and we lost the baby.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry!”

“Well, it’s just that when we were going through that horrible time, so many people stepped up and helped us in big and small ways. So if I can help someone else…”

“I think they helped you because you have a kind face,” She said as the gas pump clicked, signaling that it was finished. I put the cap back on her tank. She thanked me again and we gave each other a hug. We both got in our vehicles and drove away. I don’t know her name and she doesn’t know mine… and that is completely okay.

The interaction lasted mere minutes and it didn’t change that woman’s circumstances, nor did it change mine, but the few moments we spent in each others’ company reminded me that some of the best things in life are the random tiny moments of human connection that aren’t planned or expected. They happen when we follow the promptings the Lord gives us and we step outside our comfort zone to help another person. We need to recognize that sometimes the things we see as inconveniences or annoyances, like an empty gas tank, are actually divine appointments, should we choose to embrace them.

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/recognize/

C had a lock-in with her American Heritage Girls troupe last night, and while she didn’t spend the night, we went back there this morning for a few hours so that she could have breakfast and work on some of her badges. Her group was doing a science experiment that consisted of tasting various foods and deciding if they were sweet, sour, bitter, salty, etc… She definitely didn’t approve of the baking chocolate or the coffee, but loved the gummy snack and thought the arugula tasted good! After AHG we went to a cousin’s birthday party and after that we made a stop at Dunkin Donuts for a treat before heading home and ordering pizza for dinner. So basically, we just ate our way though Saturday, a highly successful start to the weekend if you ask me!

So this was my day- a plethora of medicines and cuddles from my baby. Thankfully he is feeling much better. The antibiotics have kicked in and his eyes are looking much better!

Big E- Mommy, are you going to wash your hands?

Me- Yes.

Big E- Good! Because I need you to tickle my armpits!

Me- Okay?!?

Big E- But I might tell you to stop!!

So I did what any mom would do, I washed my hands and tickled his armpits. 🙂

“You really need to learn to cover your mouth when you cough,” the doctor snapped at Baby E as he walked in the door. We had been waiting nearly an hour to be seen, and Baby E’s patience had long since vanished. It was past his bedtime, he had shoveled a few chicken nuggets into his mouth moments before our appointment and his eyes were red rimmed. He was done.

I stood there momentarily startled. He’s joking, right? I mean, Baby E is two. Coughing into his arm is something we have been teaching Baby E for the past few weeks, and about half of the time he remembers to do it on his own, but like I said, he’s two, so his little body doesn’t always know when a cough is coming.

But the doctor wasn’t joking. He just stared at Baby E as if he carried the plague. I held my tongue and smiled. Let’s just do this.

Baby E’s sitter mentioned that he wasn’t feeling well. He didn’t seem awful when I picked him up, but since we are nearing a weekend, I thought it was good to have him looked at.  Partially out of laziness, I decided not to drive the extra twenty minutes and battle walk in hours at the pediatrician’s office. I called and made an appointment at the urgent care closer to home.

Thirty seconds into my visit I was regretting my decision, longing to be sitting in the familiar pediatrician’s office, with doctors I know and trust with my kids. The majority of our visit was spent with the doctor talking down to me, ordering me on how to hold Baby E to get the best ear exam, and sternly rebuking me that I’ve never gotten him ear tubes. Thank you dear sir, but this isn’t my first rodeo. This is my third kid, and the one kid I hover over in the ‘sick’ department because I know he can go from ok- to bad- to really bad pretty quickly. I’ve discussed all these things with his own doctor, whom I trust implicitly. I just needed to know if he had an ear infection so I could get him on antibiotics pronto.

The final verdict-

Double ear infection.

Possible Pink Eye

Antibiotics and Eye Drops

And one condescending conversation that I shouldn’t be afraid to leave my county to have my child seen at a big city hospital, because clearly I don’t know what I’m doing.

Prescriptions filled.

Cranky children brought home and put to bed.

10 pm dinner for mommy.

The end.

 

I’m sure you’ve noticed, but social media’s a really tough place to be right now. There is so much vitriol and anger, and quite frankly it isn’t fun anymore. Here’s my two cents, and that will be it… To my liberal friends- it’s probably not as bad as you think. It’s possible you might be buying into some pretty heavy fear mongering. Take a moment to pause, breathe, and pause again. Check your sources. Don’t read just what you want to hear. Educate yourself. To my conservative friends- Things are not going to be as great as you hope. Donald Trump is not your savior. He is not going to fix the system.  Check your sources. Don’t read just what you want to hear. Educate yourself. 

I call on you all to resist. Resist the anger. Resist the vitriol. Resist the temptation to look down on people that don’t think like you, look like you, or act like you. Resist the desire to stereotype huge swaths of people. Resist the pull to start a fight. Resist the inclination to belittle people.

Instead, look at your neighbor and love them! Look at the downtrodden in your own community and step up and make a difference. Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Defend the orphan. Don’t just march. Don’t just lobby. Don’t just make phone calls. Go out and DO! Do the amazing things that you can do that will truly make a difference in someone else’s life. It starts with you. It starts in your own home. It starts in your community and in your town! If you want to change the big things, start with the small!

Matthew 25:34-40

34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/resist/

One Hundred and Fifty Four Five

That’s the number that Big E uses when he wants to describe something that is bigger than any number that he already knows.

For instance, he is going to live for One Hundred and Fifty Four Five years.

He is going to play outside for One Hundred and Fifty Four Five minutes.

He is going to eat One Hundred and Fifty Four Five M&M’s.

C, like the diligent big sister that she is, often corrects him and mocks him for this made up number, but I totally understand him. There are some things that are just too big to be explained or contained in the terminology that we have come to understand.

For me its-

My stress level for the past week has been a One Hundred and Fifty Four Five because of the stomach bug that hit Tim and Big E. 

I have One Hundred and Fifty Four Five dishes to clean and it is only Tuesday night. 

Baby E woke me up so many times last night that I am One Hundred and Fifty Four Five amount tired. 

What about you guys? Are you having any “One Hundred Fifty Four Fives” this week??

Beauty in Brevity

This morning was perfect, the snow laying heavy on the tree branches, casting a white pallor on the forest behind our house. A squirrel climbed up a young tree, making it sway under his weight, shaking the snow from the branches as he climbed.

I love the way snow muffles sound and carpets everything in a pristine quiet. I love the way it emphasizes every line and angle of the branches it settles on and I love watching it drop from the limbs as the temperature rises.

I love snow.

My disdain for the color yellow started very early in my life. I associated the color with vomit, and it caused me such distress that my mother couldn’t take me down the mustard aisle at the store without my eyes covered. My sister would torment me, as only a sibling could, by chasing me with yellow crayons, my mother chiding her as we ran past. The very sight of the color yellow would make me nauseous, so a long time I avoided it. Like most childhood fears, I outgrew it, however my distaste for the color lingered on for years… as did the mocking I endured over my unconventional aversion.

My list of childhood fears runs the gamut of somewhat predictable to the strange and unusual.

1. Yellow- As mentioned above.
2. Vultures- I saw a movie (The Last Unicorn) and in it one of the characters is killed and eaten by a vulture. My childhood mind convinced myself there were birds large enough to swoop out of the sky and pick me apart. When I would run to the mailbox, I would stick as close to the house as long as possible, watching the heavens for any impending danger.
3. The Rapture- I’m not sure why I was so terrified of the Rapture, but every time I couldn’t find my mother I was convinced she had been raptured and I had been left behind. (No poor literary pun intended.) 100% of the time she had not in fact been raptured, but rather she was working in the garden, or talking with the neighbors.
4. Aliens- I blame Unsolved Mysteries for this particularly ridiculous fear, as I often stared at the stars in the sky waiting for them to move.
5. Ghosts- I grew up in a very old community. Many of the homes dated back nearly a century, and there were many tales of hauntings and spirits. Our house was never included in those stories, but I often wondered at them as I listened to the settling wood of our old farmhouse late at night.
6. Clowns- Stephen King’s It made a whole generation of children see clowns in a whole new light. Even now I can’t look at a storm drain without my mind picturing Pennywise smiling back at me and sending a shiver down my spine.
7. Dogs- While most of the other fears were decidedly left in my childhood imagination, my fear of large dogs followed me into adulthood. The jingle of a dog collar still has the ability to push me into fight or flight more swiftly than anything else.

Thankfully, my children’s fears have so far been relatively typical- comprising mostly of dark hallways and loud noises. If we are lucky, they will stay that way, however should they start fearing, say, the rapture, I feel more than prepared to help them conquer their anxieties.

Did we share any of the same fears? Are there ones you would add? 

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/yellow/

This afternoon we had a much needed family date. We’ve had a really rough week and we really needed the chance to connect with each other in a positive and happy way. We decided that we would take the kids bowling today, since they had never been before. Once the kids got the hang of it, they had a blast. Even Baby E couldn’t wait for his turn. I’m grateful for the time we had this afternoon to just have fun and be silly!