As you can see, I don't have my Mother's Day layout finished yet. But, I wanted to take some time during these weeks leading up to Mother's Day to celebrate moms. People ask me all the time how "I do it." Meaning how do you manage four children, a business, and everything else. Well, the short answer is less than gracefully!
So, my motherhood celebration will not be sappy and sweet, making mothers out to be perfect angels and motherhood to be a heavenly bliss. No, this celebration will be honest, messy and completely sincere. Here goes installment #1!
One of the things I have learned being a mom is that your complete and absolute love for your child can turn you into a raving lunatic. This story takes place almost 8 years ago, over the 24th of July, a statewide holiday. For the past couple days, my baby, Kate, had been sick. We thought it was just a cold, but after two nights of no sleep and her mood becoming unbearable (constant screaming at the top of her lungs) I took her to the Insta-care clinic. The entire way there she screamed at the top of her lungs and with no sleep for more than 48 hours you could say my nerves were more than a little frazzled. Add to that the worry for a sick child and the responsibility you feel as a mother to care for and protect and make better.......in short, I was in no mood to be trifled with.
So, I walked into the packed clinic (don't forget, it was a holiday weekend) and headed straight to the counter to sign my name on the waiting list. Well, the girl behind the counter says something to the effect that the wait would be more than an hour. I told her that would be OK and started signing my name. She continued saying that my screaming child would bother the waiting patients and it would be better if I took her to another clinic since they were so crowded. I told her I was sorry, but that there weren't any other clinics less crowded and if my child was a problem, maybe they should move her to the front of the line so that she wouldn't bother anyone..... then I continued signing my name. This made her mad. Very emphatically, she told me that I simply could not stay in the clinic.
This is where the raving lunatic part comes in! I looked her dead in the eye and told her just as emphatically that I would not leave, that if she wanted me out of the clinic she and several others would need to physically remove me from the premises and that I would not be responsible should they be injured in the process.
Let's pause for a moment to consider what could make a level-headed, generally kind woman of 27 with no history of verbal threats start saying such things. Sleep deprivation? Maybe. Fear? Maybe. Having a really bad day? Maybe. But there is one thing that definitely will........ someone threatening her baby..... perceived or otherwise!
Needless to say a doctor overheard my rant and within 5 minutes he and two nurses were examining my baby and giving me handouts on parenting resources, shaken baby syndrome and post-partum helplines. It turns out she had a simple ear infection. A prescription of antibiotics and numbing drops had her.... and me..... feeling better in no time.