I bailed on my family for a few hours today. Maybe that sounds selfish, but I assure you that I was a better mother and wife because of it. I have been shaky on my feet for the last few days, and it was a huge relief to go out on my own for a little bit. Laela woke me up an hour before I was expecting to get up, but it was nice to spend a bit more time awake with her and Brady while Dekker slept. I left the house at 9:30am, cranked the music that I wanted to listen to (regardless of who was or wasn’t sitting in my backseat), and took my time getting to the city.
I arrived sooner than expected and decided to go fill the car with gas before my waxing appointment. I don’t know about you guys, but there is this one awesome man who works at the Costco gas bar, and he just makes my day every time I run into him! He came over to “tend” to me while I was filling up, and we complained about winter weather, but about never wanting to leave our homes here in the prairies. Once my car was full, my gas cap wouldn’t close. He got down there and figured it all out for me really quickly so I could be on my way with my car in perfect working order. I like that guy. I gave him a can of Pringles once…
I’m glad I filled up first because I still made it to my waxing appointment fifteen minutes early. Luckily, my waxing girl is freaking amazing and was ahead of schedule, so I got in pretty much right away. Its probably a weird thing to talk specifics about, but I’ve been waxing my legs consistently for upwards of six years, so my leg hair is sparse and weirdly cooperative. Therefore, my appointments go really fast. I can even book into a smaller slot than most people. Yay, Hailey’s leg hair! That aside, though, I love my waxing girl. She asked about Dekker’s surgery, and we talked about her baby boy who just turned one TODAY! I like our visits. I guess I should wax my legs more often.
Since I got in with her much quicker than expected, I was done early. My next place to hit was my chiropractic appointment, but I would be super early. However, I didn’t have enough time to really do anything in the middle. I hate it when that happens. However, my phone had begun to explode with encouraging messages that I was eager to respond to, so I drove to my appointment but doddled in my car for a while to answer the messages. (Thank you, by the way. You know who you are!) I still ended up in the waiting room fifteen minutes early, but I waited less than five before I was put into a room.
As per usual, Dr. Mike was great. He remembered from seeing me a few weeks ago that Dekker would have had his surgery. He asked lots of questions and was a great sounding board, actually. I told him about not being able to walk back with Dekker, and how upset it had made it. I said that the anesthetist insisted that it was safer for Dekker that I not be there, in case of some problem that I could hypothetically get in the way of. I said that we found out later than Dekker went down screaming his head off and woke up the same way – scared. And then Dr. Mike asked the question that I hadn’t been able to verbalize until now. “What about that is safe? It sure isn’t safe for his mental health.” Right?!? I was so relieved to have another medical professional back me up and agree with me. He actually became visibly angered that we hadn’t been rushed into recovery when he woke up, but they tried to comfort him themselves for several minutes first. He insisted “The first thing he should have seen when he woke was your face.” I agree. It was just reassuring to know that I’m not crazy for wanting these things. Once we cooled off from that, we made jokes about how to keep a two year old from touching his eyes. Somehow, picturing Dekker wearing a cone around his neck lightened the mood. It was a nice appointment, and a good visit. However, my body is completely out of line, and I’ll need to get back in with him next week. No wonder I’ve been feeling so crappy.
I left there feeling quite a bit better than I have since Tuesday, and I headed over to the nearby mall to drop in on Jerilee. I bought a couple candles and ate a cupcake before hitting up Walmart for groceries. They had my favorite frozen pizzas (no judging!) on sale, plus crackers were nice and cheap too. I picked up a few other things and figured I was done and done! Until I remembered two very important things!
Thing number one: $46. We’re doing that year of savings challenge, but we’re doing it backwards with the big numbers first. We’re pulling out money every Friday for it. This week was $46. Let me tell you, going to a teller and asking for such a specific number gets you some weird looks, but I didn’t even explain it. Let the guy thing I’m strange, I don’t care. I’m excited to have so much money saved already!
Thing number two: The largest passion tea lemonade in the world.
I had been feeling so ill, but today I was finally feeling a bit better and I figured I could justify some Starbucks. But not coffee. So I opted for passion tea lemonade, light on the ice. It was massive and refreshing and delicious.
Upon arriving home, Dekker was sooo happy to see me!!! I’ve been struggling with him for a few days. I’m usually the one who does the eye drops, and because of that, he’s scared of me. If I initiate any interaction, he freaks. Its awful, and it breaks my heart. But when I came in the door, he ran up and gave me a big hug like kids do in movies. Brady went back downstairs because she had been left there when I arrived, and I told him we’d be right there. But Dekker didn’t want to go down. He just wanted some mommy/Dekker time upstairs. We read books and tickled and cuddled. At one point, I kissed his toes, and he giggled like crazy. He reached his hand out and made a kiss sound. So I kissed his hand. He offered me the other, so I kissed that hand. Back and forth, over and over, until he closed his fists and leaned forward with his lips pursed, looking for a real kiss. I cried. I adore that boy. Its nice to know that he still loves me.
My parents came over for the evening, to enjoy supper together and possibly help us fix our ever-squeaking washer. Well, supper was a success anyway :s The washer – not so much. At least we have ideas. Now, they are off, the tub is run, Dekker is sleeping, and while Laela should be sleeping, instead, she is taking a dump right beside me. Thanks for that, sweetie.
All in all, it was a better day for us all. I feel a bit refreshed from being away, having my body straightened out, and finally eating a full meal this evening. I’m thinking this early morning, together with a soak in the tub, should help me get a really solid sleep tonight as well.
You guys are great. Once again, I appreciate you all so much. Our family feels so very loved.