Today was a day fraught with emotional exertion.
It all started yesterday as I was packing Micah's suitcase for one of his quarterly visit with his father. Hours of laundry duty had worn me down and packing the last of his little socks filled me with relief.
We went into the office to finish up the day's schoolwork. After feeling particularly proud of himself for completing a math question, he smiled at me.
A dental cap was gone! The internal moaning set in as I thought about what I had to do next. He had to leave the next day at 12pm and had a doctor's appointment at 11am. How were we going to get this fixed in time?
Panic subsided enough to allow me to pick up the phone and call his dentist. I left a message. They were closed. "Who was that on the phone? he asked. "Your dentist, we need to fix your tooth, buddy." Anxiety spread over his face. "But... but I just want to look like Grandpa!" (His Grandpa has a gap in his two front teeth.) I laughed for about 5 minutes.
We finished the schoolwork, brushed our teeth and went to bed; however my night was filled with nervous tossing and turning. (As only a parent's night can be.)
I kept it together in the morning. Kids pick up on stress. Thankfully the dentist called me back. They had an opening! At 11am. I had to call the doctor to reschedule, call Micah's dad to let him know we might be late (he understood), then call around for an emergency ride to the dentist later.
After a small breakfast I got him in the bath, picked out his clothes, picked out MY clothes, dried him off, got him dressed, took a 2 minute shower, got dressed, putting my Zumba clothes and tennis shoes in my bag with the library books I had to return, made sure I wasn't forgetting anything and left the house.
The dentist went well. They have a policy there; you can't go back with your child after the first time. Their reasoning for this is that the child listens better without their parents around. It works. So I sat idly flipping through an old issue of "O" while the damage was repaired. He's such a big boy.
After getting a prize (and an organic, sugar free strawberry smoothie from Grandma), we left the dentist and returned the library books before grabbing lunch at Grandma's and waited for his dad to come get him. I always have to hold back the tears. Letting your child go for two weeks just doesn't feel natural. But I am calm until they leave. Tears only starting to show after his blonde hair in the backseat turns the corner. The day feels unusual and empty.
My mom cheers me with coffee and conversation. I look forward to the phone calls I'll have with him.
I leave you with a recent Micah-ism; "Don't be hostile to me!"
