A Day in the Life

"Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again..."

I'm baaaack.  I've been silent on here for awhile, the reasons for which I won't go into right now but maybe later.  Out of the about 4 people who read this before, I think I owe almost all of you an e-mail.  I'm so sorry - I'm working on it!  In the meantime, welcome to a small snapshot of my life.  I present to you "A Day in the Life of Bear and Mommy."

5:45 AM:  Anna wakes up coughing (again).  She's had a cold since last Wednesday.  I try to go back asleep, but the cat is now awake and trying to sit on my face.  Good morning to me.  

7:30 A.M.:  Anna has a temperature and is still complaining about her ear.  Start calling the doctor's office every ten minutes waiting for the receptionist to be there so that maybe with a small miracle we can snag a same-day appointment.The only appointment they have is at 11:15.  Start frantically searching for a substitute for my classes and rewriting my lesson plans, while yelling at my sick child to just let Mommy work for 10 BLESSED* MINUTES.  In lieu of a normal sick activity, said child prefers to run through the house shrieking and terrorizing the cat.  (*probably not actually the word I used...)

Reenactment - sick child.

11:40 A.M.:  Somehow we finally make it to the doctor's office and see our pediatrician.  She asks Anna if her ear hurts.  Anna says "No. But it feels bubbly."  Doctor asks me what that means.  Lady, I have no idea, that's why we're here.  Confirmed: ear infection.  Also, hey Doc, can you look at this weird rash my kid has that has not gone away for about a month?

Doc: "Oh yeah, that's molluscum contagiosum.  (sees my face)  Ha, yeah, it's a viral skin condition.  Basically it's like viral warts.  Super common.  She probably got it at school."
Me:  "Uhhhh.... Ok. How long until it goes away?"
Doc: "Oh, you know, anywhere from 6 months to a few years."

Reenactment - my face.

 The doctor then literally laughed out loud at the look on my face.  Followed by "Sorry, but you should have seen your face." 

12:30 P.M.:  After a run to Target for necessities like medication, crafts from the Dollar Spot (God bless you, Target and your Dollar Spot), and the movie Trolls because I'm a pushover and I need some quiet time, we head to lunch at a nearby BBQ place.  We discover that this place offers free soft-serve cones and Anna very loudly declares this "the best sick day EVUURRR."

3:30 P.M.:  "Sick" child comes out of her room from her non-existent nap.  After half a "Cat in the Hat" and a childrens' Clif bar, I force her to go with me on a walk to the mailbox.  Many tears and compromises later, she is in the stroller for the first half of the walk. 

After about 30 seconds of being out of the stroller for her walking portion of the trip, Anna notices that because of the recent rain there are lots of tiny, dead worms on the sidewalk.  I repeat, TINY and NOT ALIVE.  Cue the hysterics!  Grabbing my leg, shrieking, begging to get back in the stroller.  I stay firm and keep walking, drawing many judgmental looks from passerby.  It starts to sprinkle as we near the house.  Anna starts running, yelling over her shoulder: "I HATE THIS SO MUCH!!"  I laughed.  A lot.  Sorrynotsorry.

5:00-7:00 P.M.:  Dinner and Trolls. Anna decides that she is scared of this movie, despite having already seen it in the theater.  I force her to finish because a) I bought the damn thing, b) Mommy just needs to play some Candy Crush, and c) I'm mean like that.  Side note: this is not a great movie.  Catchy soundtrack, but man, that Mr. Dinkles is creeeeepy. 

He's coming for you.

8:30 P.M.:  Child is finally in bed.  Not sleeping, of course, because the cat is camped outside of her door, rattling it around by trying to squeeze herself underneath it.  I remove the cat.  Sit down.  1 minute later - where is the cat?  30 more seconds - "MOMMMYYY! She's doing it again!!"  Rinse and repeat until about 9:00. 

Is Daddy coming home yet?