Archive for October, 2008

Well, She’s Always Been My Princess

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008
The kids were off of school on Monday for a Teacher Work Day so I took advantage of the opportunity to schedule some dental appointments. They both had cavities that needed filling and any time I can get a 2 for 1 visit with them anywhere, I jump on the chance.

At the regular cleaning visit they had last month, the hygienist spoke with me about some anxiety that The Boy had displayed and said that when we came back for the filling that they may need to use the “papoose” on him. It’s basically this sleeping bag type restraint to keep the patients arms and hands down by their sides and prevents them from squirming around too much. I know it sounds like a mini-straight jacket but I understand it’s need when used in the correct setting. They’d try “happy gas” first but wanted to give me the heads up on the papoose just in case. The Girl wasn’t expected to be a problem, she’s always been a trooper.

Fast forward to Monday. The Girl is 2,000 questions all morning long about what they’re going to do and how will the gas make her feel and how long will it last and will it make my head hurt and does it smell and how does it work and will the doctor smell it too and be happy and FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY AND LIZ TAYLOR WILL YOU TAKE A BREAK WITH ALL THE QUESTIONS!

Thirty minutes into the visit and The Boy was done. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that his cavity wasn’t so bad and they were able to scrape it off, so to speak, and put a sealant on. Voila and he’s done. Great.

The Girl? Not so easy. Turns out her cavity was worse than they expected. A lot worse. So much so that they had to drill pretty deep in the tooth and do a “nerve treatment” which as they explained it to me was a kiddie root canal. On my 10 year old. Nice. Then – oh it gets better – they had to put a crown on it. I prayed right there in the consultation room that the Lord would settle my Girl’s soul because I figured she HAD to be freaking out right about then.

One hour later (and yes – I had the joy of entertaining a 5 year old in a waiting room for that entire time) she walks out and is all smiles. Only, it’s a lopsided smile because half of her face is still numb from the Novocaine. We’re driving off and I look back in the rear view mirror at her as she’s flicking her numbed bottom lip. The Boy proclaims that he hates the dentist. This coming from the kid who just had the cake walk procedure. The Girl, with drool running down her chin, says, “I LOVE the dentist.”

Umm, yeah. That would be my kid.

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Posted in Aaaah Crap, Parenting, The Boy, The Girl |

Stop! Thief!

Thursday, October 23rd, 2008
Yesterday afternoon as I pulled onto my street, I pressed the button for the automatic garage door opener then remembered I needed to pull ahead two more houses to reach the mail boxes first. The kids stayed in the van and I grabbed our mail. As I was turning the van around, The Girl says, “Momma! There’s a kid in our garage!” I look toward the house and see a small boy, no more than 6 or 7 years old ducking out of my garage.

“Momma! He’s STEALING MY SKATEBOARD!!!”

I was stunned to see this child come out of my garage holding The Girl’s skateboard. I pressed harder on the gas peddle to speed closer to the house, but also to rev the engine to get this kid’s attention. As I was about to lay on the horn, he looks up and sees me approaching. He sets the skateboard back in the garage then darts off the opposite direction through our neighbors front yard.

I pull into the driveway, unable to pull into the garage because he’s blocked my entry with the skateboard. I throw the van into “park,” pull the emergency brake and holler at the kids to stay in the van.

I walk halfway through my own yard towards this kid who is just standing there on the sidewalk on the other side of my neighbors front yard.

“Son?!?! Is there something that I can help you with?” I yell at him. He shakes his head no as he stands there without moving a muscle and without making a sound.

“I just saw you in MY GARAGE taking MY DAUGHTERS SKATEBOARD. Are you SURE there isn’t anything I can help you with?” I think he was equally stunned that I was confronting him in such a manner. He remained silent as he shook his head.

“Do you know that what you were doing IS WRONG?” He nods his head yes. “Do you know that it is WRONG TO STEAL from people?!?” Yes, he nods his head again, standing still and not uttering a word.

“Don’t EVER come by my house again, DO YOU HEAR ME? I don’t want to EVER see you on my street again.” He nods his head several times and then darts off running down the street.

It was so shocking that not only was this small child STEALING from me, but that he was doing it out in the open with little regard for anyone around him. Had I thought more clearly at the moment, I would have demanded he show me where he lived so that I could talk to his parents about what had just happened.

The sad realization (and I shared this with my own kids later that night) was that at such a young age, if he could do something like this so flippantly, his home life was probably a mirrored image with parents that tolerate such behavior and would care more that he got caught than what he had done to begin with.

I’m still stunned by this. As The Girl and I talked that night before bed, she said she recognized this boy as one who frequently rids around the neighborhood on his bicycle with other young boys. In fact, after she mentioned it, I remembered seeing him just a few days earlier as we were all outside visiting with friends across the street.

AND I LIVE IN A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD! It’s not like I’m in the ghetto or a questionable part of town. I let my kids play outside without me being right there with them. I leave (left!) my garage door open on many occasions. My instructions to the kids now are to NEVER leave it open unless we are outside in the yard. If we are inside or gone that door better stay SHUT.

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Posted in Aaaah Crap, The Boy, The Girl |