Friday, June 27, 2008

Simple

I left work on Wednesday with a million and one things on my mind.

On my way to pick up Graham at his babysitter’s I mentally itemized how I could spend the next several hours as efficiently as possible.

Pick up cat nip on the way home - Horace has a terrible addiction – then return a library book. At home strip Graham’s sheets and throw in wash. Play with him, offer a snack, return phone calls, pay bills on-line and prep dinner. Throw sheets in dryer. Hit the park for an hour.

Home. Late dinner, bath, stories and bed for Graham. Later dinner for Rob and I during which we would discuss child care for Graham while I am at BlogHer.

When did life get so busy, so regimented? I wondered.

When I arrived at the babysitter’s house and rushed to greet Graham, I caught my breath at the sight of his face. His eye, which had been slightly red that morning, was now turning purple and had swollen dramatically.

He was bright, chipper and not in pain so I wasn’t overly worried about his immediate health.

But there was no question of what would we do next.

We rushed home, collected his health card plus a book and a snack and headed back out in rush hour traffic to an after hours clinic where I knew we would wait God knows how long before Graham saw a doctor.

Simple.

No thoughts of bills or errands or plans.

No cat nip for Horace. No escaping library fines. No clean sheets or home-cooked dinner.

Just a surprising sense of peace and clarity, born, I suppose, of knowing, for once, exactly how to prioritize.

Funny how one little person can make things so complicated and yet so simple.


*We still don't know what happened to Graham's eye. The doctor thought an allergic reaction, Rob says a bug bite and I suspect he banged it on our coffee table while roughhousing with his dad the night before. At any rate it has improved dramatically since this picture was taken Wednesday night.*

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60 comments:

Anonymous said...

ouch! that looks sore! Glad he isn't acting sore!

Amazing how priorities are changed so easily!

Backpacking Dad said...

You're a good parent.

And seeing his eye makes me want steak.

Sass said...

Scarey. Looks astonishingly like the bug bite on my ankle right now. So glad he was chipper.

Karen MEG said...

Ouchie! Glad to hear that it's gone down somewhat and it wasn't serious...it's disconcerting to see something like that. Kids always like to surprise you with these "little things" don't they?

tricki_nicki said...

It's true that nothing quite matters when something's wrong with a kid.

It's good that kids are so resilient. It sounds like Grant will heal up nicely from his Bugbiteallerbangedupeyetis. ;)

Jess said...

That looks scary! I hate that kind of injury, where it takes your breath away....

Beth Cotell said...

Yes. It is amazing how quickly priorities change once a little one is on the scene.

Glad his eye is looking better!

contemporary themes said...

Glad he wasn't in pain. He's such a trooper. Happy it's better!

A Crafty Mom said...

Those eye things are the worst, it can be nothing but it could also be an infection, KWIM? Glad it seems ok now. I hope you didn't wait too long at the clinic, not fun with a two year old!

Kyla said...

Ouch! I'm glad he seems to be okay, though.

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? said...

Poor little guy. I'm glad it's improving! You definitely have your priorities in line!

Texasholly said...

Bless his little heart! I am glad he is getting better. Momentary clarity...

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

Ouch! Poor baby! Glad it's looking better. It's amazing how quickly those "important" errands become obsolete.

crazymumma said...

He still manages to look cute.

Jenn @ Juggling Life said...

Ouch. Looks like he's handling it like a trooper though. I vote bug bite with Rob.

Anonymous said...

Ouch! It looks painful, but I'm glad to hear he's doing better.

Shauna said...

I vote black fly bite. I react something like that to those wretched beasts. And Chicka got a bit just under her eye weeks ago and I can still kinda see it. Crazy, but I'm glad he's mostly okay.

Indy said...

Poor little guy. I hope you either figure it out or it isn't an allergy. Looks painful.

flutter said...

he is adorable even with a poofy eye

Karen said...

Poor guy! But if he's not complaining about it he's a real trooper.

Woman in a Window said...

EEk! It's the truth though, isn't it. In the moment - BOOM - clarity!

Awesome Mom said...

Poor guy, I hope he feels better soon.

Kamis Khlopchyk said...

That looks nasty, glad it's clearing up. I can see why all bets were off once you saw that!

The life of a mom is like no other and we wouldn't trade it for the world.

Melisa Wells said...

Awww! Poor baby! It totally looks like an allergic reaction to me. I'm glad he's doing better.

Also, I have a contest at my place! If you like magnets and candy (not in the same mouthful), come and see me before Wednesday! xoxo

Mom on the Run said...

Poor baby...even the best laid plans can get blown up with dynamite at a moment's notice. Glad he's feeling better!

The Rambling Housewife said...

Yikes! That looked really bad!

Glad to hear it's much better. :)

Helen Wright said...

Glad it's improving!!! Good luck with it!

CP said...

aww poor guy- at least it didn't bother him too much!

funny how often our "to-do" list gets tossed out the window.

Corey~living and loving said...

oh goodness....I hate not knowing. I am glad to hear that is is healing nicely though. :)

oda41143 Missy said...

Poor little guy. Hope his eye gets better soon.

Laura said...

Poor Graham...hope he feels better soon.

Happy Canada Day Weekend...have a great one!

Mental P Mama said...

The best laid plans...glad my baby is better!

Run ANC said...

As a child, my eye look exactly like that after being stung by a bee (near the eye, of course). I could be a bee sting reaction.

Poor thing.

David said...

Poor little guy.
Happy Canada Day weekend!

Anonymous said...

Ouch. Poor baby! Glad to hear it's getting better.

It is amazing how little ones are able to turn the whole world on its head!

Kat said...

Aww. Poor little guy. At least it didn't hurt!
So glad he is better. :)

Kat said...

Ouch! Hope it doesn't hurt as bad as it looks.

Skiplovey said...

Poor buddy. My eye did that once. It ended up it was a spider bite. Looked scarier than it felt.

Anonymous said...

Poor baby. Isn't it amazing how you can plan things down to the millisecond and poof...life happens.

Miss Lisa said...

Poor guy--this actually happens to me if I ever eat beef--even if I touch it (well if I touch my eyes after).
Benedryl and warm compresses help.
Hope it is not an allergy and just a typical mishap :)

Bloggy Mama said...

Yeeeoutch!
I hope that he's feeling better, soon. I totally agree with you... it's so nice to know exactly what you need to do, no question. Also, in those situations, there is no regret for the list of to-dos that was not accomplished. The time to care for the child was well worth it.

Marlo said...

Poor guy! I'm glad he's feeling better, but you are so right about that mama instinct.
I'm glad you stumbled on by- 'cause now I've found a new blog to read. :)

painted maypole said...

glad he's doing better.

some days things just snap into focus, don't they?

MommyTime said...

I don't mean to scare you, but did the doctor rule out cellulitis? You say the eye is looking better, so that's good, but it looks a lot like what my daughter had at about his age; it's completely treatable with antibiotics, but without them can lead to eye damage. If he's on antibiotics, he's fine, so don't be super worried...just wanting to make sure for your sake.

Kristen said...

so true how the kids can totally make you change your day in an instant, and suddenly nothing else matters.

Hope he is doing way better!

Tonya Staab said...

Poor little guy. I hope it has cleared up now.

It's amazing how kids can make you forget about everything else and what you'd do to protect them and keep them happy and healthy.

Great job momma.

KathyLikesPink said...

Oh my gosh I would have totally panicked. Thank goodness it wasn't bothering him.

I'm glad it wasn't anything overly serious. Whew!

Tootsie Farklepants said...

I can't believe the babysitter didn't alert you to this sooner! Poor little man.

And see? Our children help us live in the present too!

Marmarbug said...

OUCH! Poor kiddo!!!! Isn't it amazing how the little people in our lives can make us just drop everything?
Not that I would trade it for the world...

Unknown said...

Glad he's feeling better. I'd like to see the other guy! HA!

Funny how something like that can throw your whole routine into a tailspin. But that's okay sometimes...

kittenpie said...

It's true. we get wrapped up in the details until something smacks us in the head and reminds us of the truly important.

caramama said...

Awwwwww. Poor guy! I'm glad it's better.

Isn't it amazing how sometimes all those plans go right out the door without a second thought because it becomes so clear what the priority is!

Angie @ KEEP BELIEVING said...

The day we arrived home from Hilton Head, my mind was swimming with thoughts of what to do first - laundry, put things away, hose off sand outside, etc. Grant woke up with an earache and I KNEW it was swimmers ear and I KNEW there was nothing to do but after hours clinic (Saturday and all). We were there for 3 hours, but I didn't think about the other things.

I can relate is what I am saying.

KEEP BELIEVING

Mom4aDifference said...

Aw! I am glad your little guy is ok and that you clearly have your priorities straight! I can't say that about everyone - more people should be like you. Good job, mom!

Denise
Blessings from Above
http://blessingsfromabove2.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

sigh.
love it when life becomes simple.
love it that he was alright.
love it that motherhood prevailed.

Jill said...

I would have taken one look at that eye and flipped out.

So glad to hear that he's doing better... the poor guy!

Jaina said...

Ouchies! I hope it's healing nicely.

Jennifer @ Fruit of My Hands said...

Ouch! I hope he's all better now.

Anonymous said...

Ya know, just when we think we're finally "in charge" we're jerked back in to reality ;-) I had the same kind of "plan" as you a couple weeks ago, when Dude came in the house after a wipe out on his rollerblades . . . off to the Urgent Care for 6 stitches.

Made for a very slow and unbusy evening ;-)

Hope your Dude's eye is better soon!

Anonymous said...

I have an identical picture of Buddy from the summer before last. It was a bug bite on his eyelid. It swelled up to an amazing size. We took him to the doctor who marked how swollen it was and told us to bring him back in four hours. By then, the swelling had started to go down and the bug bite was visible.