Mental Hip Check

I’ll admit it.  Sometimes I feel very selfish.  I feel guilty if I would rather work, or read a book, or, well, do ANYTHING other than play a 17th game of CandyLand.

Sometimes I feel like a walking Calgon commercial – I would love someone to just ‘take me away’.  But right as I am wishing that, I get a mental hip check.

My mental hip checks are ALWAYS a reminder to focus on what truly matters.  To me, being a Mommy absolutely matters. And when you see this sitting on your couch, and she says, “Mommy, will you snuggle with me?”  You know that this very moment – it matters.  Work can wait.  Deadlines can wait.  Your little girl?  No waiting.

My sweet girl came down with ‘a virus’ out of the blue yesterday.  It started with a relatively low fever and some vomiting in the evening.  However, this morning, her temperature ballooned to 103 and barely came down for the bulk of the day.  Holding her hand was like clutching a heated oven mitt.  Cuddling with her was like clinging to a heating pad.  She was absolutely radiating heat.

Since we couldn’t get the fever down, our doctor wanted us to head to the hospital.  Naturally, the moment we arrive, the fever starts to come down on its own – but the reassurance that she is not dehydrated (despite the incoherent episodes earlier in the day), does not have a bladder infection, and is not suffering from some terrible unnamed illness were worth the trip.

Being with her when she needed me – even for something as small as a fever – it matters to me. And it matters to her.  Her memory of today will always include me cuddling her – not her feeling lonely and scared.  That is important to me.

Not to be left out, the little guy was desperate to get in on the action at the hospital.  God love the paramedics for taking special care of him.

Have you ever seen a kid so happy to be at the hospital?  Delaney wasn’t feeling up to the ride – yes, this kind gentleman you see pictured, did, in fact, take Coop on a RIDE around the nurse’s station. 

 

I am grateful to everyone at this wonderful hospital for making this trip so painless.

I am grateful for the hip check.  Sometimes we need a reminder of what matters most!