Mar. 17. 2009 (Part 1): St. Patty’s Day
Never a dull day, that’s what we say here in our household.
Nothing could have prepared us for the ER visit we had in the evening; Especially since the day had gone relatively smoothly.
Nathan had actually gotten up earlier than usual, and was able to arrive at school 15 minutes prior to starting time. He was dressed in a green striped shirt with dark blue denim and wore his white Pumas that had a hint of green on it. This is the best he’s been dressed in awhile. On a usual day, he wears one of his many CARS shirts.
Loi and I had prepared a tray of sugar free, vegan, carob chip cookies for his St. Patrick’s Day class party.
When I picked him up at noon, he was carrying his bowl of cookies smeared with white frosting and green sprinkles (So much for sugar free) against his chest, announcing as I walked through the door that “one is for Mommy, one is for Papa, and one is for Nathan.” Note: None for Peewee because he’s “too little to eat cookies”. Nathan, too, was decorated: shiny, green shamrock sticker on the corner of his right cheek with matching construction paper and black yarn necklace.
Justin and I had spent the morning playing because he did not have therapy. It was, then, Day 3 of not-so-hot eating, and he was still vomiting 1-2 times a day, going on week 3. Though he was more clingy than usual, he was smiling, happy, and energetic.
I drove Justin to pick Nathan up at noon. Per Nathan’s request, we headed near Loi’s work for lunch at Corner Bakery. Justin watched the small brown-feathered birds peck at our crumbs on the ground as we all chowed down our lunch. He waved and bounced when the birds flapped their wings to fly away. He would switch his attention to the three tiered, two story fountain flowing just a few feet away. Nathan spoke of leprechauns leaving notes in his classroom, and how he was not able to catch it as he scooped spoonfuls of homemade seashell pasta and cheese into his mouth.
The day was a perfect sunny 76 degrees, with a slight breeze.
We only headed home because Nathan was getting tired, and I did not want to risk a melt down.
On the ride home, Nathan fell asleep. Justin was wide awake. After carrying Nathan to his bed for his afternoon nap, I came back out to our attached garage to carry Justin into the house. Only, Justin had other plans; He wanted to ride his cars. He whined, pointed, and leaned his entire body toward the direction of the cars until I placed him inside his red buggy.
After helping me apply sunblock to his skin, we worked on some bilateral play as I placed both of his hands on the wheel while I steered him around the front of the garage. He looooved it. Even made some car noises as we ‘drove’ around.
After 20 minutes of play, Justin came in for a bottle, played for a little longer, and napped. When he woke up, I noticed he was warmer than usual, and took his temperature. 101 degrees. It was 6:30PM by then, and the pediatrician’s office was closed. I knew our only choice was the ER, and I hated this option.
“Great,” I thought, “here we go, again.”
I called Auntie Diane over to take Nathan out for dinner at Chik-fil-A because it was free kids’ night. Based on Auntie Diane’s report, Nathan had a blast.
Here are a few tidbits:
Scene 1
N: “Yi Diane, I like hanging out with you.”
D: “I like hanging out with you, too.”
N: “And, Justin, too, right? Because we’re you’re…(paused to think)…Your sons?”
D: (laughs) “You’re my nephews.”
N: (laughs because the term nephew was funny to him)
Scene 2:
It was 9PM and Nathan wanted ice cream for dessert. Auntie Diane was hesitant because she knew Mommy and Papa would not be happy about it. Nathan’s response: “But, you don’t have to tell them, right?” Of course, Auntie Diane said that she would. And, he got the ice cream. Nathan is trying to understand the idea of lying. At this point, he’s still telling us everything, even when he knows he’s done something wrong.
Scene 3:
At Chik-fil-A
