So I really hope that old adage is not true. You know, that one that says whatever you are doing when you ring in the New Year sets the tone for what you will be doing for the rest of the year. Because if that is the case, I'm going to be spending a lot of time at the hospital.
Let me start by saying I am not a fan of New Year's Eve. New Year's is my worst holiday. I want it to be fabulous, everybody says its going to be fabulous, I have such high hopes and then it sucks. Too expensive, turns out to be boring. The worst. I mean, it used to be fun. I can remember some good New Year's Eve parties. Great house parties with my lovely friends, (2000 in particular was memorable). But really, though I hate to say it, the festivities do a very quick slide down-hill once you have kids.
But I had adjusted my expectations this year. I had a simple plan. Hubs and I were staying in (so no need to go broke on a baby sitter or drive really far in the bitter cold), I was going to make some tasty, noshy snack thing, we were going to crack open a bottle of wine and watch not one, but two movies. I know, rock stars, right? Seriously though, I told you I was lowering expectations. But still, I was looking forward to it. Had rented the movies (one sci-fi action, one comedy) planned the snacks and was ready to go. The Little Dude was a bit under the weather, had a slight fever earlier in the day and had taken a nap as a result, but still, I thought we were good to go. What a fool I am. Have a not learned anything in my five plus years of being a parent? I'll bet even you can guess how this story ends. About 20 minutes before the end of the first movie we heard L.D. wake up and when I went into his room to see how he was, I was surprised to find that he not only had a fever, but indeed had a fever of nearly 105. And his teeth were chattering, and he was coughing and his heart was beating like a wild bird in a cage and he was crying and telling us how much his head hurt.
So after a quick call to Telehealth Ontario (I love that service) we decided to head over to the hospital. Got him all suited up, grabbed health cards, a blanket and a stack of books and a water bottle and went out into the still, dark night.
Once we were in the car and he was over the shock of waking up, ("I just want you to let me have my sleeping!" he had wailed when we told him we were going to the hospital) he was very calm and clear. Endearingly so. "Its so beautiful at night Mom. Look at all the lights! And we're the only people driving.", he said with wonder. I held his hand between the seats and we drove to the hospital in record time. It is amazing how much faster you get places when there is no traffic. And the Emergency ward was blessedly empty, with only one case in front of us in the triage line. Even so, it still takes some time. I was glad for the stack of kids books I had along, as it passed the time in between testing and diagnosis and prescription/recommendations and discharge. By the time we left it was past 3:00 am, but we were glad to have gone in since we found out he has a (so far) mild case of pneumonia, and now can treat it effectively.
And so now we wait and rest and heal. And while I certainly did not enjoy my New Year's Eve, per se, it was, as the Little Dude observed "so interesting to be awake when everyone else is asleep." And it was a wonderful relief to bring him home and tuck him into his own little super hero sheeted bed, and receive his groggy little, normally temperatured hug.
And now if someone will just tell me where to find those four hours of sleep I seem to have misplaced, that would be awesome. Ah well, at least I don't have a hang-over.
Oh no! that sounds way worse than a hang over.
I am 4 years in and still not prepared for motherhood. Hope he's on the mend.
Posted by: Laura Watt | 01/01/2014 at 10:40 PM