So sometimes life throws you a curveball, like it does, when you didn’t even know you were up to bat, and you wind up in the Emergency Room because all the med stops are closed for the holiday and your oldest child needs some doctorin’.
This was my past five hours. And I’m proud to tell y’all that while Anxiety Girl definitely rode along with us and whispered things in my ears, I kept my cool. I was worried, but I didn’t let it get out of control.
And now here we are back home, and my girl is headed to bed for a good night’s sleep. All is well.
And for this moment right here, that will do.
The best moment of the night wasn’t wondering why this particular mural was in an ER examination room, though I certainly did wonder.
It also wasn’t telling Aub that I was DEFINITELY going to ask the doctor if he had washed his hands–I have done it before when I had a three-month old Cooter in there for what they suspected was pneumonia. Aub told me not to, and when I pointed to the sign and said, “It’s okay,” she replied quite firmly, “It’s okay…..but not recommended.”
Well. Okay then. (Pain can make people a little grouchy, y’all, in case you didn’t know.)
No, the highlight of the evening was that our room was directly across the hall from the bathroom for the entire ER unit. People coming and going. When a Mama wheeled her son (in an ER wheelchair) into the bathroom, she told her two girls, who looked to be about 4 and 6, to wait right outside. The smaller girl looked in the room and saw Aub. She nodded to her sister and then pointed with her head and side glance at Aub. Her sister very seriously said, “Yes. She’s sick.” A minute later the admissions nurse walked down the hall. The little one pointed at Aub in our room and called out to the nurse right in front of her, “Hey! She’s sick!”
At that moment I heard my girl laugh. That was one of the most beautiful sounds I’ve heard in a long time. Relief.
I asked her what happened, as I couldn’t see the hall as easily as she could from my vantage point. She told me, and she said that made her day. Sweet little girl, all worried about her. Aub even shared it on Facebook, ending with: “Thank you, kind stranger, I feel like they’re taking me more seriously now.”
Bless that little girl. And bless her older sister, seemingly a little embarrassed, who said, “Hannah! Don’t question it!”
Bless all the cuteness.
Here’s the thing. In our idea of what is appropriate and not, and I guess even in the mind of a six-year-old, it’s not in our comfort zone to notice and point out someone in need to someone who can help. I mean, how many of us would have openly looked into an exam room and then pointed that person out to a nurse?
And yet, the little one who did was the one who helped my girl round the corner. Take a turn for the better.
It made me wonder how many times I could have helped another by noticing, letting them know I noticed, and then asking someone else to care.
Just a thought.
Here’s wishing you all a day of being noticed and finding out just how much you are cared about–you and your precious soul.
Love to all.
I Might Need A Nap 