We had great Memorial Day weekend. We were on the go alot - from a birthday party to dinner with friends to a show at a local amphitheater to two cookouts. But, as sappy as it sounds, the best part was just doing all these things with my little family.
That means the second best part must be the fact that it was a 3-day weekend that actually felt like a long weekend. I did not once think about work or even the fact that I had to go back there on Tuesday. It was quite a little shock to my system when I had to drop Jaya off yesterday morning.
See, contrary to popular belief (or at least the beliefs of some of the women at cookout #1 on Sunday evening), it does not get easier to drop your kid off at day care every morning. For me, it has gotten exponentially harder.
Technically, when Jayla was a little baby, I was so incredibly relieved to drop her off that it wasn't funny. I didn't know what to do with her so, I was comforted in the fact that I was leaving her with someone who knew what to do with babies. I was happy to drop her off and go to work because going to work was normal. It's what I knew and understood. New baby wasn't so comprehensible.
Now that she is older, I am more comfortable with having her around. She has become a part of the family. She is now what's normal and spending so much time away from her is not. We have fun together. She has a personality. We interact. We're friends.
I've been thinking about this lately but, I try not to let it get to me. But, I felt like I needed to set the record straight. It really doesn't get any easier. The truth is quite the contrary.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
What Mama Never Told Me
It was a mostly normal Tuesday afternoon, except Jayla and I had doctor appointments. Jayla had a follow-up appointment with her dermatologist. She was released to live the life of a normal toddler who no longer has a deadly bacterial infection. I had my first EVER appointment with a primary care physician. It turns out that I am allergic to Houston and was released to a life of Flonase, Claritin, and yogurt.
I am told this is normal. I have apparently never been normal.
As the doctor examined me on Tuesday afternoon, she asked me if anyone in my family had a history of allergies – Hay Fever? Asthma? The lightbulb went off in my head when she mentioned asthma. “Yup. Mama.” I answered. She replied, “Well, you can thank your mama because you are suffering from allergies”.
What? What does a sort throat have to do with allergies? And why is it that I’ve never been allergic to anything ever before in my life?
She explained the postnasal drip that has apparently been causing blisters on the back of my throat which is why the immense pain has been torturing me for the past week. She also said that allergens are particularly bad this year and people that usually are not affected, have been.
I asked her what sorts of things I could be allergic to.
I just remember “smog” being in that list. She might as well have said, “Houston.”
When I got in the car, I did just as the doctor suggested – I called my mama to thank her for my allergies. She laughed. I kept talking. I told her how I swore to the doctor that I had never had any issues with being allergic to anything in my life.
Mama’s response: “Well, not exactly. When you were little you were allergic to everything. I remember your daddy almost killed you one time. You were following him around the house and he was using bleach to do a load of laundry. He didn’t know what had happened. All of a sudden you couldn’t breathe. We had to take you to the hospital for a reaction to bleach.”
What!?!? No, mama, there’s no reason that you should have told me that I was allergic to bleach at some point in my life. There’s no reason that you should have told me that I was hospitalized on several occasions due to allergic reactions. And there’s certainly no need to know that I was an asthmatic child.
But, I do appreciate knowing that all of that cleared up when we moved to North Carolina. I may need to use that as a supporting argument one day. I can see it now – “But, at least I’m not allergic to North Carolina!”
I am told this is normal. I have apparently never been normal.
As the doctor examined me on Tuesday afternoon, she asked me if anyone in my family had a history of allergies – Hay Fever? Asthma? The lightbulb went off in my head when she mentioned asthma. “Yup. Mama.” I answered. She replied, “Well, you can thank your mama because you are suffering from allergies”.
What? What does a sort throat have to do with allergies? And why is it that I’ve never been allergic to anything ever before in my life?
She explained the postnasal drip that has apparently been causing blisters on the back of my throat which is why the immense pain has been torturing me for the past week. She also said that allergens are particularly bad this year and people that usually are not affected, have been.
I asked her what sorts of things I could be allergic to.
I just remember “smog” being in that list. She might as well have said, “Houston.”
When I got in the car, I did just as the doctor suggested – I called my mama to thank her for my allergies. She laughed. I kept talking. I told her how I swore to the doctor that I had never had any issues with being allergic to anything in my life.
Mama’s response: “Well, not exactly. When you were little you were allergic to everything. I remember your daddy almost killed you one time. You were following him around the house and he was using bleach to do a load of laundry. He didn’t know what had happened. All of a sudden you couldn’t breathe. We had to take you to the hospital for a reaction to bleach.”
What!?!? No, mama, there’s no reason that you should have told me that I was allergic to bleach at some point in my life. There’s no reason that you should have told me that I was hospitalized on several occasions due to allergic reactions. And there’s certainly no need to know that I was an asthmatic child.
But, I do appreciate knowing that all of that cleared up when we moved to North Carolina. I may need to use that as a supporting argument one day. I can see it now – “But, at least I’m not allergic to North Carolina!”
Monday, May 07, 2007
Tales From The Day Care Workers
Today when I went to pick Jayla up from school, one of her teachers (the one who actually never talks to me when I pick her up) looked up at me as I walked through the door. She startled me when she blurted out, "Oh! I need to tell you what happened today!" All sorts of scary thoughts ran through my head but, I kept my cool and replied, "Okay?" as I gather Jayla's belongings.
She proceeded to tell me a convoluted, long-winded story that I still don't remember the details of. But, the gist of it was this: Jayla walked up to her and said, "Potty." So, she asked Jayla if she wanted to sit on the big girl potty and Jayla, in true Jayla fashion, shook her head and said, "No."
I can totally picture that entire exchange between the two of them because if Jayla knows how to do nothing else, she knows how to contradict herself.
Then...something, something, something...she put Jayla on the toilet and Jayla sat there for 2 or 3 minutes until she decided to get up from the potty. When she got up, she ended up pooping on the floor - timed it a little wrong, I guess.
So, while I was all disgusted at the thought of cleaning poop off the floor that does not belong to your own child whom you gave birth to, the teacher was grinning ear to ear at Jayla's accomplishment. She was so excited that Jayla told her that she needed to use it and then actually used it. The teachers seem to think that she is, therefore, well on her way to potty-training land. I'm not entirely convinced but, I received the story with all of the enthusiasm that they told it with.
As Jayla and I walked down the hall towards the front desk, the teacher at the front desk says, "Here comes the diva!" - complete with the whole 3-snaps-in-a-z-formation. Not sure how to receive the comment, I asked, "Is that how she acts around here?". Ummm...apparently, that is entirely how Jayla is known by approximated 100% of the employees at that school. Because as we stood there, several teachers came up and they all had their own example of Jayla's diva attitude. The storied cracked me up.
But, quite honestly, I could not be happier with how confident and assertive she is. I don't know if that's just a regular toddler trait at this stage but, based on her teachers, it is not - or at least she adds her own flair to it all. I know I will be less happy with some of these characteristics during her teenage years but, ultimately, I wouldn't have it any other way. My job is to just help her refine it so that she is not perceived negatively by people who don't understand her attitude...just like my mama did for me...
She proceeded to tell me a convoluted, long-winded story that I still don't remember the details of. But, the gist of it was this: Jayla walked up to her and said, "Potty." So, she asked Jayla if she wanted to sit on the big girl potty and Jayla, in true Jayla fashion, shook her head and said, "No."
I can totally picture that entire exchange between the two of them because if Jayla knows how to do nothing else, she knows how to contradict herself.
Then...something, something, something...she put Jayla on the toilet and Jayla sat there for 2 or 3 minutes until she decided to get up from the potty. When she got up, she ended up pooping on the floor - timed it a little wrong, I guess.
So, while I was all disgusted at the thought of cleaning poop off the floor that does not belong to your own child whom you gave birth to, the teacher was grinning ear to ear at Jayla's accomplishment. She was so excited that Jayla told her that she needed to use it and then actually used it. The teachers seem to think that she is, therefore, well on her way to potty-training land. I'm not entirely convinced but, I received the story with all of the enthusiasm that they told it with.
As Jayla and I walked down the hall towards the front desk, the teacher at the front desk says, "Here comes the diva!" - complete with the whole 3-snaps-in-a-z-formation. Not sure how to receive the comment, I asked, "Is that how she acts around here?". Ummm...apparently, that is entirely how Jayla is known by approximated 100% of the employees at that school. Because as we stood there, several teachers came up and they all had their own example of Jayla's diva attitude. The storied cracked me up.
But, quite honestly, I could not be happier with how confident and assertive she is. I don't know if that's just a regular toddler trait at this stage but, based on her teachers, it is not - or at least she adds her own flair to it all. I know I will be less happy with some of these characteristics during her teenage years but, ultimately, I wouldn't have it any other way. My job is to just help her refine it so that she is not perceived negatively by people who don't understand her attitude...just like my mama did for me...
Sunday, May 06, 2007
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