Yesterday, we discarded all reason and logic and left our quiet, peaceful island to brave the insanity otherwise known as . . .
. . . the shopping mall. (Que foreboding background music)
I'll spare you all the gorey details - the suicidal attempts to find parking, nearly losing Adana countless times because she (1) REFUSES to hold hands (don't even mention strollers) and (2) she only moves at one speed - a full run - and can dodge between the hordes of people faster than a fish on a coral reef.
So, by 7:00pm, we had been "enjoying" our family day for exactly 7 hours. We were wiped out; we were starving; and we had only 20 minutes left to go on our wait at Cheesecake Factory. My brother, Joe, and his wife, Katie, had met up with us at Bell Square for dinner. This made what happened next much more do-able.
Picture: Long, boring wait in over-crowded Cheesecake Factory, tired parents, energized 2 year old. Adana kept running back and forth around the place. Then, she made a bolt for the open door. I reached down and grabbed her arm to stop her.
And she collapsed to the floor, shrieking!
Now, I've lived with this girl for just over 2 years. I know all the various forms of her shrieks. There is the "Give me back my dolly" wail. The "I want a cookie" holler. The "This room is too dang quiet" scream.
This was the "I'm in horrible pain" bawl.
I looked down and she was clinging to her right arm. Crap, I think. This happened once before, last summer. A dislocated elbow.
So, what do you do in this situation? The ER? How much would that cost and how long would it take? But is there an alternative? It's a Saturday night; she's in so much pain that she just whimpers in my arms and moans "Arm!" over and over. My heart is breaking. Everyone is starving. Argh! I hate these parenting moments.
Luckily, I have a very calm-thinking husband. We left the restaurant and found a quiet spot at Macy's. And Nathan RELOCATED HER ARM!! He'd watched an ER doctor do it before, so he just gripped her arm, pulled, twisted, and viola! She was back to her normal, full-throttle self.
Nathan rocks! Remind me of this moment the next time I start complaining about his stupid habit of leaving sock at the foot of the bed.
. . . the shopping mall. (Que foreboding background music)
I'll spare you all the gorey details - the suicidal attempts to find parking, nearly losing Adana countless times because she (1) REFUSES to hold hands (don't even mention strollers) and (2) she only moves at one speed - a full run - and can dodge between the hordes of people faster than a fish on a coral reef.
So, by 7:00pm, we had been "enjoying" our family day for exactly 7 hours. We were wiped out; we were starving; and we had only 20 minutes left to go on our wait at Cheesecake Factory. My brother, Joe, and his wife, Katie, had met up with us at Bell Square for dinner. This made what happened next much more do-able.
Picture: Long, boring wait in over-crowded Cheesecake Factory, tired parents, energized 2 year old. Adana kept running back and forth around the place. Then, she made a bolt for the open door. I reached down and grabbed her arm to stop her.
And she collapsed to the floor, shrieking!
Now, I've lived with this girl for just over 2 years. I know all the various forms of her shrieks. There is the "Give me back my dolly" wail. The "I want a cookie" holler. The "This room is too dang quiet" scream.
This was the "I'm in horrible pain" bawl.
I looked down and she was clinging to her right arm. Crap, I think. This happened once before, last summer. A dislocated elbow.
So, what do you do in this situation? The ER? How much would that cost and how long would it take? But is there an alternative? It's a Saturday night; she's in so much pain that she just whimpers in my arms and moans "Arm!" over and over. My heart is breaking. Everyone is starving. Argh! I hate these parenting moments.
Luckily, I have a very calm-thinking husband. We left the restaurant and found a quiet spot at Macy's. And Nathan RELOCATED HER ARM!! He'd watched an ER doctor do it before, so he just gripped her arm, pulled, twisted, and viola! She was back to her normal, full-throttle self.
Nathan rocks! Remind me of this moment the next time I start complaining about his stupid habit of leaving sock at the foot of the bed.
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