Well today was another day in the Shankle convalescent ward. Except now we’ve added Caroline to the mix.
This morning was kind of chaotic because, well, dog rodeo. We have one dog with a bunch of stitches and an obsessive/compulsive disorder, one that can’t decide if she wants to be inside with her sister or outside barking at dogs that walk by, and one that is just barely hanging on and recently decided he can no longer walk on the hardwood floors and waits to be carried inside.
It’s every bit as calming as you’d imagine.
As for Caroline, I knew she wasn’t feeling well because I am a very intuitive mother and picked up on her cues which looked a lot like her putting her head down on the kitchen countertop and moaning, “My whole body aches and my throat hurts.” But I sent her to school anyway because she didn’t have a fever and had some tests and projects she needed to work on.
This is where I always struggle as a mom. The line between too sick to go to school and declaring “You’re fine!” I mean I can tell when she’s really sick with a fever and the whole shebang, but it’s this middle ground that proves trickier.
When she was little I had this great trick where I would ask her about all her symptoms.
“Does your throat hurt?”
“Yes.”
“Does your stomach hurt?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have a headache?”
“Yes.”
“Does your elbow hurt?”
“Yes.”
And it was the claim of the hurting elbow that caused her claim of illness to jump the shark. It was brilliant.
The problem is these kids get smarter as they get older. She’s on to me and my elbow inquiries. And, truthfully, I totally know she doesn’t feel great but is it bad enough to miss school?
I had a feeling she was going to call me before the day was over and so I ran to HEB to load up on groceries. I’m sad to report that it was basically the total opposite of a grocery cart filled with New Year’s resolutions and good intentions. It was basically the grocery cart that Little Debbie built because nursing Mabel back to health is causing me to stress eat.
Right about the time I finished at the store, Caroline called and she didn’t sound good. I drove to the school and picked her up. Then we came home and spent the rest of the day watching movies in our pajamas and maybe I ate some or four of the Hostess cupcakes I bought at the store.
Now I just have to decide if I need to take Caroline to the doctor tomorrow, but I guess I’ll just see how she feels tomorrow. However, I know for sure I have one doctor visit for the day because Mabel has a follow-up appointment at the vet to make sure everything is healing properly. From the looks of the haiku she wrote yesterday, everything is healing except her feelings.
“Sharp teeth, nasty smell
javelinas are so bad
I have some regrets.”