TWO TURTLEDOVES
December 22, 2010. 11:00 pm: We have arrived safe and sound at G & G's, with clean roads and an uneventful trip. Well, uneventful in a weather-related sense. Neither child slept more than 10 minutes the whole 5 1/2 hour drive, and constantly whined & bickered and argued about which DVD they would watch, but otherwise, uneventful. We unload the car and then plop into bed, exhausted. The bed is so snuggly warm, sleep has never looked so inviting.
December 23, 2010. 1:00 am: Baby awake, hacking and sniffling and miserable. Big girl half-awake, hacking and feverish. Puppy whining and scared. Daddy sound asleep through it all. Mommy pulling hair out.
3:00 am: Daddy helps get the kids 'liquored up' with nighttime cough syrup, takes the dog out to the garage, and retires to the living room to sleep in the chair. Kids fall asleep. Mommy crashes.
7:00 am: Big girl wants to awaken everyone in the house so they can play "IHOP" with her. No one obliges at this hour, so she heads to the couch where she watches a half hour of cartoons before she complains of "feeling crumbly". Baby wakes up, eyes crusty, cough worse, looks like death warmed over.
8:00 am: Grandpa calls the clinic for us.
11:30 am: Big girl is diagnosed with a plain old cold, which caused some minor complications due to her asthma, but is fine. Prescribed cough syrup, Tylenol, liquids and lots of rest. Baby has double-ear infection, sinus infection, and pinkeye. He is prescribed antibiotic, eye drops, cough syrup, liquids, and to stay the heck away from everyone until he is feeling better. Aaah, it ain't a holiday unless we exchange grody germs right along with our gifts, now is it?!
1:00 pm: Baby takes his dose of the good stuff, and lays down for a nap. Mommy & the Uncles head in to visit Great-Grandma at the nursing home, and work on our Project Linus blankets with the residents. (Success!! We made 6 beautiful blankets and had a really fun time getting them finished.)
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| "The Blanketeers", working on a Project Linus blankie. They turned out great, and we had such a fun time visiting with the residents! |
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| Back to terrorizing Big Sister. |
I know it's kindof silly to say that, but I found myself thinking: how lucky am I to live in a place like this? Where despite being 330 miles from home and in a very rural area, in a matter of a few short hours, my children got in to see a doctor, were diagnosed, given medicine, and are feeling good as new. And I am so fortunate to have great health insurance that covered our visit there so I don't have to make that gut-wrenching decision: take my sick child to see a doctor, or risk it with a "wait-and-see" because I can't afford it? Trust me, unfortunately I have been in that position before and I pray that we see a day where NO parent ever has to make that kind of decision.
I feel so lucky that we live in a place and time where children no longer have to die of common childhood illnesses. Where we as parents are educated about warning signs and necessary vaccinations and how to keep our kids healthy. Where we have access to physicians and resources and medicines and diagnostic tools to help us find the answers. Our system is far from perfect, but consider how much better it is than it was 25, 50, or 100 years ago. We've come a long way, but we still have a long way to go, which is why it's important to support causes like The Children's Health Fund, a group who is "committed to providing health care to the nation's most medically underserved children through the development and support of innovative primary care medical programs; response to public health crises; and the promotion of guaranteed access to appropriate health care for all children." Wonderful!
Several of my "12 Days" posts have been about organizations that help kids. Since becoming a mother over 4 years ago, I have counted every blessing in regards to my children. I have looked into those sparkling blue eyes and kissed the tops of those angelic blonde heads and thanked God for those two perfect blessings I have been granted. And realize daily what a huge responsibility it is to be the Mommy to these amazing little creatures that have been entrusted to me. I think that's exactly why I'm so passionate about helping those other beautiful little people in this world who cannot help themselves. It's about giving those kids a chance to grow up and become something wonderful.
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| My world. |
For my two little turtledoves (who are at the moment soundly sleeping all snug in their beds while visions of sugarplums dance in their heads) today's donation will go to help kids who are not as lucky as mine are. Kids who by chance were not born into families with access to the medical resources we have, kids whose parents want the best for them just the same, but watch in horror as their children get sick and it's beyond their control to help them. For those kids, we should be able to do more.
THE CHILDREN'S HEALTH FUND:
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