Tag: health

children, eyesight, gratitude, health, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Walking the Walk

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A typical Snellen chart. Originally developed ...
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I had my annual eye exam yesterday.  I figured if I volunteer for Vision is Priceless and I expect my boys to go through all the machinations of maintaining their vision and eye health, then I should be first in line at to get my own eyes tested.  It was painless, quick and I finally ordered a pair of prescription sunglasses.  Trust me, daily driving in the Floridian sun demands dark shades.

During the appointment I felt disproportionately anxious and emotional to what was actually happening.  Here is why:

1.  I was awake.  Folks, that’s pretty much all it takes for me to feel disproportionately anxious and emotional.

2.  Having to go through some of the necessary and slightly uncomfortable steps of my eye exam, like the pressure check with puffs of air and dilation drops, made me sad that my boys have had to do so much of this stuff at such an early age.  I don’t like having to stand by and watch them cry as they get dilation drops or the doc struggles to keep them still to get a photograph of the inside of their eyes. 

The woman that had walked me through the first steps of testing leading up to my actual exam asked me if it was all going alright.  I confessed that I was thinking of my boys and their eye history.  Since they are very well known at the optometrist, she understood my meaning.

She said that actually I’m quite lucky that my boys  have been to exposed so much to doctors.  She said she has fifteen year olds that refuse some parts of the eye testing because they are scared, defiant and/or crying. 

So, my concern will no longer be feeling bad about their familiarity with all things medical and optical.  I will be thankful they are learning to respect doctors and any tests that are required of them.  My real concern is that soon, T.Puzzle and Full Speed will attempt to usurp the testers and run the show, equipment and the eye testing all on their own.

It’s a fine line for sure.

vision has never held these boys back, not one minute, not one second. We are very fortunate.

 

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children, health, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting, self care (or lack thereof)

When Did That Happen?

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Sporting their new shaved head look. This was not sanctioned by Mom but it sure is easy to style.

You know that strange feeling that settles over you if you’ve ever been away from you kids for more than a day or two?  That somehow in the hours you weren’t with them they grew in ways imperceptible to world at large yet glaringly obvious to you.  I haven’t technically been away but I am very much out of the boys’ loop as I continue my lengthy wisdom teeth recovery.

They seem older somehow.  Even in the picture above they seem to resemble young men more than little boys.

When did that happen?

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Wisdom (Teeth)

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I didn’t want to have to write about this.   Since it has forced me to cease blogging for a week, it only seemed fair that I share some of what has been happening to me.  Please, bear with me, I am currently heavily medicated and I know not what I truly write or how bad my grammar are, I mean, is, I mean,… help me.

Here are some things I learned:

The best way to get your husband to VOLUNTARILY do laundry, housework and childcare, is to have a horribly painful, convoluted quadruple wisdom tooth extraction and then appear so pathetic, it’s the only right thing for him to do.  Thank you, Mad Dog.  You are a saint.  Yes, you can quote me on that but only until my pain meds run out.

That while I have lost some teeth, I did not lose my sarcasm.  For example, as I sat miserably in my doctor’s office yesterday needing to be seen earlier than planned because of my unmanaged pain, when he walked in the room and asked me, “How are you doing?”  these four responses popped into my drug-addled mind:

            “Great, that’s not pizza sauce seeping down my face, I’m not that big of a disaster.  That’s actual blood because I’m on a liquid only diet thanks to you.”

             “Super, this color of death on my cheeks is very becoming.”

             “I’m awesome, but you should see the other guy.’

              “Remember that pesky bone saw you used that kept waking me up out of general anethesia?  Give it to me and your arm and I will carve exactly how I am doing right into your body.”

Seriously, I’m not bitter at all and I owe it all to an increase in my pain meds.

Apparently, my extractions were pretty tough.  Something about the bottom two being so deeply impacted they were practically upside down and the top two being resistant to traditional methods thus, that pesky bone saw.

How can I turn this into a life lesson?

Well, it seems that my boys are adapting to all this quite well.  Their routine is completely unraveled and everyone but their Mom has been lending a hand to take care of them.   They are doing great.

This has been the best medicine for this Type A, perfectionist to be forced to let go of control and see that the world and her kids can get along fine without her. 

Okay, it hurts a little, too, but not as much as that damn bone saw. 

children, gratitude, health, humor, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting, self care (or lack thereof)

Help Me!

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It’s not easy to ask for help, is it?

I’m trying to let go of control a little more and give my babysitter more responsibility.  I know this will get easier with time and my life might even feel more manageable.  Imagine that!

First up, I gave her a litany of instructions and let her pick up Full Speed from school.  This way I could go get my monthly allergy shots which are available at the most inconvenient times. 

She picked him up without a hitch and I survived my three shots of lord knows what and all was good.

Once I returned home, I picked her and Full Speed up and we headed to T.Puzzle’s school.  I added her to my child pick-up list and showed her the ropes.

Again, smooth sailing.  I was so proud of myself.  Look at me, everyone!  I’m letting someone help me.

It was liberating.

We get in the car and my boys were being, well…., boys.

They were chatty and loud.  They were fighting and hugging.  They were boisterous and sassy.

The babysitter looks at me.

“Well, now I know why you stopped at two,” she joked.

Smart girl.

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Miracle

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Full Speed insisted his stomach hurt all day.  It was so critical at one point he had to go to the nurse’s office.

“Okay, then I guess you can lay down when we get home and you can go to bed super early to get better fast,” I sweetly insisted.

Suddenly, he felt better.

The miraculous recovery spilled over to the next day. 

“If you tell the teacher you need to see the nurse again, I will make sure you go to bed right after dinner when you get home.”

No nurse’s note appeared in his take home folder.

He is healed. 

So much in fact, check out this action: (disclaimer–T.Puzzle screams really loud at the end of this for no apparent reason so you may want to cut the audio before viewing)

[wpvideo HnBvLKDu]

So, all is well with Full Speed and he learned how to ride a bike without training wheels in one day this week. 

It seemed the harder I pushed him to learn, the less motivated he was.  I gave up the fight and six months later he got on his bike and rode off into the sunset sans training wheels.

A miracle here, a miracle there, everywhere a miracle.