My Kids in A Crisis
It is terribly frightening to come home from school to find that one a parent is in the hospital. You leave in the morning and everything is fine. You come home and the world seems to be crumbling around you. It’s a scary situation.
My son has a great ‘game’ face. You know the one, you can never tell if there’s fear behind it or just plain coolness. You could tell him aliens were coming to invade us and he would simply look at you and wonder why you were over-reacting. Game face on – all the time. My daughter is the same way, but she will look and listen to the tone and facial expression on my face before she reacts. I wish on so many levels I was like her when I was her age. In fact, there are times I wish I could be more like her now. She’s giving, caring, smart and knows how to handle herself in a crisis.
So, it was not a big surprise to me when she came to the hospital with everything I asked for and several things I ‘forgot’. She brought me bottled water because she knows I hate the taste of regular water. She brought me snacks in case I didn’t like the hospital food. She brought headbands, chapstick and some more cozy socks (everyone wants me to have warm feet). She was calm and collected when she saw me, but knew it was o.k. to cry when I cried too. But, when it was time to leave, she wouldn’t leave. I assured her I was going to be fine, in fact I even wanted her to go so I didn’t have to put on a ‘happy’ face, but she would have nothing to do with it. I asked, I ordered, I begged, but she simply said with big tears in her eyes “ My mom is NOT going to spend the night in the hospital alone” I realized at that moment this was her way of dealing with the chaos. She needed to feel in control of something and this was her way of doing it and so she stayed.
I have to tell you that I could not have asked for a better care taker. She took care of me and the lady in the other bed! She made sure the nurses got my pain medication when it got too much and held my hand until it got better. We laughed a little, cried a little and made it through the night. I saw my daughter as a beautiful young woman
prepared to deal with grownup things in grown up situations. And just when I thought my love and admiration for her could not get any bigger, it grew to a whole new level.
The picture below is from Chelsea's friend,Nayla. No matter if your 5 or 15 a good old fashioned homemade card makes you feel better. Thanks Nayla! You made my day!
My son has a great ‘game’ face. You know the one, you can never tell if there’s fear behind it or just plain coolness. You could tell him aliens were coming to invade us and he would simply look at you and wonder why you were over-reacting. Game face on – all the time. My daughter is the same way, but she will look and listen to the tone and facial expression on my face before she reacts. I wish on so many levels I was like her when I was her age. In fact, there are times I wish I could be more like her now. She’s giving, caring, smart and knows how to handle herself in a crisis.
So, it was not a big surprise to me when she came to the hospital with everything I asked for and several things I ‘forgot’. She brought me bottled water because she knows I hate the taste of regular water. She brought me snacks in case I didn’t like the hospital food. She brought headbands, chapstick and some more cozy socks (everyone wants me to have warm feet). She was calm and collected when she saw me, but knew it was o.k. to cry when I cried too. But, when it was time to leave, she wouldn’t leave. I assured her I was going to be fine, in fact I even wanted her to go so I didn’t have to put on a ‘happy’ face, but she would have nothing to do with it. I asked, I ordered, I begged, but she simply said with big tears in her eyes “ My mom is NOT going to spend the night in the hospital alone” I realized at that moment this was her way of dealing with the chaos. She needed to feel in control of something and this was her way of doing it and so she stayed.
I have to tell you that I could not have asked for a better care taker. She took care of me and the lady in the other bed! She made sure the nurses got my pain medication when it got too much and held my hand until it got better. We laughed a little, cried a little and made it through the night. I saw my daughter as a beautiful young woman
prepared to deal with grownup things in grown up situations. And just when I thought my love and admiration for her could not get any bigger, it grew to a whole new level.
The picture below is from Chelsea's friend,Nayla. No matter if your 5 or 15 a good old fashioned homemade card makes you feel better. Thanks Nayla! You made my day!
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