The Good and the Bad

Stimson's won the wellness challenge drawing

As tax season wears on, we all get a little more tired.  This past week, Nana left town.  Our live-in maid and nanny is back home and we are left to fend for ourselves for the last few weeks of tax season.  The fighting with the kids has ramped up.  Each kid has had their moments – good and bad.  The bad usually ends with a countdown to bedtime…if we can make it.  The good comes in spurts and often it is enough to keep us moving forward. 

Crazy 8's with Merritt's friend Anne

There were a few moments this past week that brought out the good and the bad.  First the bad – another adventure to Costco.  During the winter months, these trips have been good opportunities for Merritt and I to get out of the house and move around a bit.  Merritt is typically a great helper and knows all of the food we usually need.  A typical trip usually involves us racing inside and running to the fruit and vegetable section, with a short stop to press the buttons on the phones at the Verizon station.  We usually have no problem getting through this portion of the shopping trip.  However, the rest of the trip through the freezer section and into the chips and baking aisle involves running through each aisle hoping that I can stay up with Merritt so the 3 foot lightning bolt doesn’t get be-headed by a shopping cart and another shopper who has maxed out their cart and has no ability to see Merritt…..OR it involves me bribing my daughter to somehow make it to the checkout without losing her mind (randomly pulling items off the shelf, licking boxes, laying on the floor, crying, etc).  Yes, my daughter… not our dog.  If Stimson isn’t along to activate the competitive side of her and the antagonistic side…things are usually pretty good.  Last weekend, the two of us made a trip to Costco after she had spent a week out of town throwing up, playing with her cousins, and staying up late.  I think her tank was on ‘E’ when we got to Costco, but sometimes there are still fumes and samples at Costco to move her along.  We got through the fruit and vegetable section when she wandered off (away from me intentionally) to chew on some boxes while looking at me with the ‘eye’….that eye that says “I know I’m not supposed to be doing this and you don’t like it when I do this, but what are you going to do?”  I asked her 3 times very nicely to keep moving along so we could get the rest of our things.  It was now a challenge as she said under her breath “I dare you to come get me…sucker”.  I walked over and grabbed her hand so that we could walk to our next area.  She did the thing that all kids have pre-programmed in them as they come out of the womb – threw a fit.  She twister her body and proceeded to twist to the ground with her hand still in mine.  She then started to cry saying “You hurt me dad and you did it on purpose”.  I’m thinking, well for the record, I did ask you three times very nicely and I know you heard me.  I also did nothing other than grab your hand.  Hmmm, she must be tired and this is the emotional side of her coming out.  She doesn’t know what’s going on and all that she knows to do is cry.  Well, she kept repeating (loudly too) – “You hurt me dad and you did it on purpose”.  OK Merritt….I know we haven’t talked about this yet, but our society gets weirded out by those phrases….can you keep it down a bit?  Not everyone knows you haven’t been sleeping.  A lady walked up to me and asked me if she was OK.  Yes, I said, she is just tired.  However, as we continued to walk through the store, my tough daughter who rarely complains when she is sick (Let’s just throw up so we can move on)…..and rarely complains when she gets hurt (band aids are for wimps), kept saying that it hurt.  I then started to notice she was carrying her arm and not moving it.  My heart started to sink a bit as I thought back to a time when this happened with Katy.  As we checked out, I tried to get her to move her arm and she wouldn’t.  I knew something was wrong…..  Off to pick-up Katy at work.  I shared the news with her and we could see her arm starting to swell….Katy confirmed my suspicions.  She dislocated her elbow – AH!  After not really EVER going to the emergency room or urgent care, we have been there 3 times so far this year!!  Let’s see, we went to the ER for a freak infection and ended up with a large invoice (not doing that again) for someone to give us a prescription and a sling (that we didn’t wear)….then we went to Urgent Care for Katy’s dislocated shoulder only to have two people struggle to get her arm back in place (should have gone to the ER).  Which should we go to this time?  Well, we know what it is and we can beg them not to do X-Rays…..let’s try Urgent Care.  As we approached the parking lot of Urgent Care, we had another sinking feeling….they close at 5p and it is 5:05p….and Merritt is tired!  She needs to go to bed at 6p tonight if not now!  We stopped quick and Katy quickly ran inside to see if we could somehow get in.  

Our new babysitter

The receptionist responded – Sorry we are closed.  “I just need someone to pop my daughter’s elbow back in place!”, Katy said.  Then, as if the music started and Doogie Howser (remember him) entered the scene in slow motion, a doctor came to the front.  His response was, “I can’t do anything in here since we are closed, but I can help you in the parking lot”.  Wow, things aren’t like they used to be.  C’mon, can you help a brother out?  I know there are policies and scripts, but this is actually a real person and happens to be our kid.  He came out to the rescue and popped her elbow back in place, shook our hands and disappeared back into the walls of the American healthcare system.  Wow, what just happened?  Needless to say, there were several cookies that were made the next day and delivered to that doctor.  That was the bad.

The good……Merritt asking for Stimson (not mom or dad) to put her to bed.  One of those sentimental moments that you file away for the rest of your life of Stimson reading a book to Merritt, putting her in bed, tucking her in and saying a prayer to her.  Hmm, babysitting may have just gotten a whole lot cheaper!