Well, it is a well-known fact among military wives that if something is going to go wrong, it will happen while your husband is off “defending democracy.” Of course, why should I be any different? Yesterday morning started fairly normally. Ben woke up about 7:30. I fed him and we played. The baby and I both decided to take a nap while Joe got ready for his trip to the west coast. (He’ll be gone for about 3 days for his water survival training. Really, this is a very minor TDY. What could possibly happen?) Joe said good-bye and left for the train station. I offered to drive him, but he declined. I wish he had let me.
Not more than 15 minutes after Joe walked out the door, I set Ben on the chair to watch cartoons. I ran upstairs to simply brush my teeth and change into something more appropriate. My goal was to make it to church. (Those of you with children can see where this is going.) I had barely picked up my toothbrush when I heard BOOM, then the unmistakable sound of my son screaming. He had fallen down and was laying flat on his back on the hardwood floor. This was not happening.
Fighting the urge to cry, I picked him up to soothe him and dialed the on-call nurse line. He appeared not to be truly hurt, but I wanted to know what to look for. I was also hoping to hear a soothing voice say that it happens all the time. I wanted to hear someone tell me that I was not the worst mother in the world.
Her advice: Go to the emergency room. No words of comfort; just go ahead and drive 30 minutes through the narrowest roads imaginable and wait for who knows how long. By now, Benjamin had stopped crying and seemed to be okay. However, I knew that every time he got fussy I would wonder if he was all right. I grabbed his diaper bag and a few snacks for me and off we went.
Fortunately, the ER was not as bad as I expected. (I think God was trying to give me a break since I had had all good intentions of making it to church.) We were in and out of there in under an hour. Benjamin laughed and smiled at the staff. To be honest, the thought crossed my mind that it was probably a terrible idea to bring him to the ER since it put him in contact with all kinds of contagious people.
Well, lesson learned. My son is no longer a motionless blob, and I cannot afford to take me eyes off him. He has propelled himself off the sofa and survived. My little man is growing up.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
So many lessons to learn. What a ride motherhood will be!
Hi Marsha! Well it looks like life as you knew it has changed forever - Big Ben is now mobile and on the go! I'm glad the event worked out well - I CLEARLY remember rushes to the ER with Joseph as he hit his head on a bolt on the swingset and gashed it open. Lorre thought they would have to sedate ME! Ben is growing fast and has the best Mum ever! Thanks for the post! We miss you guys!
Post a Comment