Brought to you by the Rollercoaster of Life.
A gravity-defying, loop-de-loop after loop-de-loop of gut-twisting turns, stuck on go, mean machine that passes by lands of beautiful beaches, happy memories, and warm embraces.
Soundtrack performed by: Sleepless Nights.
The first story of the day
Day 615
I contemplated not posting this. B looks miserable.
She got her 1st Covid Vax this morning.
We have been talking about this moment for months.
Jokingly, I told her a while ago that this was her bday present from us, her parents.
She didn’t laugh. But she never said she wasn’t going to get it. In fact, at points, she looked forward to this moment.
With it, she can eventually see her friends again. Friends she hasn’t really seen for almost TWO YEARS!!!! With it…she will eventually not need to wear a mask at all times.
We will still practice social distancing and clean hygiene, but a day without a mask was what she was looking forward to. And her friends. Of course.
Anyways.
I contemplated posting this photo because she isn’t happy here. Far from it.
We had her yearly well-child checkup. It took nearly 90 minutes to finally get her Vax.
And 90 minutes for a kiddo with severe anxiety, waiting for a shot (that turned into 2 bc of the usual yearly vaxxes), having to fill out paperwork because she is 12 now – is an eternity.
I don’t recommend this route. And looking back, we should have scheduled it on a different day.
But we waited. Her stomach started hurting, her skin went pale, her eyes closed because the light was triggering a migraine, and she was soaking with sweat.
She tried to run. She screamed she didn’t want it.
I don’t blame her. There were kids in rooms all around us screaming. Not sure if they were related to getting the Vax, but it didn’t matter. The atmosphere was prime for an already anxious child to want to disappear.
Holding her next to me, letting her grab my hands, I told her to do her best to try to break them.
She definitely tried.
In the end, she got the first shot. I could feel her heart break when the nurse reminded her that she will go back in 3 weeks for the 2nd one.
In the end, I loved her and hugged her, and reminded her how strong she is and how caring she is. That we are doing this to keep the people we love and the strangers we have yet to meet – safe.
I let her watch a show on Netflix while we waited the 15 minutes (that I didn’t even tell her about because she didn’t need that added stress). The nurse made it seem like she was just waiting for the card, which she was, but she purposely took long enough for B to question the wait.
In the end, she wanted to be mad at me. And I told her that she had all right to be.
Because in the end, I told her, I’d rather she be pissed at me for a little while until her arm stops hurting, than watching her fight for her life on a vent.
She’s currently curled up on the couch, with full control of the TV. The jury is out if she is still mad at me, but I don’t care.
I care that at the end of the day – our beautiful baby girl is protected from a virus that has already killed more than 750k+ people.
Next up, will be E on Sunday. And I might need a margarita or 2 after that one.
2nd story of the day
After arriving home with a couple of happy meals and a kid who no longer had an operating arm in tow, it was time to run the dogs.
I had been doing so well with keeping my eyeball on Helios at all times.
I got myself distracted. Helios knew. Could probably sense it in the air.
As I was talking to my Papa and the girls as Happy was jumping on E and B was hyperfocused on her Luna.
It was Luna’s 5th Birthday today after all.
“Uh mom,” E says, looking towards the hill. “He-He just went up the hill.”
“Well shit,” I said. (yes. I curse in front of my kids. Don’t even go there.)
E ran to the hill. She knows the drill. She secretly enjoys hoping in the car to help me hunt down Helios.
This time – she asked if she could run up after him. I figured Helios was right at the top like he usually is.
So I let her.
Watching E run up the hill, I turn around to get the other 4 fluffy butts corralled and inside the house.
I already had my car key. I learned a long time ago to always have the key.
Getting the puppies inside took a little longer than I liked. And the fact that E and He-He hadn’t come back yet, wasn’t a good sign.
Did I just send my 9yr old, alone, into a questionable neighborhood on its best days?
Shit.
Have I not listened to enough True Crime?
I kicked the car into reverse, slowly of course – just in case the duo was headed down the hill – and when I didn’t see them at the top, I may have punched the gas a little hard.
At the top, I finally got the GPS notification that Helios was off the property.
Well no shit.
Unlocking my phone and waiting for the app to load, I look in both directions.
My heart sank. I couldn’t see E anywhere.
Panicking, I glance at my phone and see the first number of the approximate location is a 2.
Perfect.
I immediately turn left and as I get to the top of the descent into the 2’s (which is only about 500ft from our driveway BTW), as soon as I broach the peak – I see her walking in my direction, look back, and start to run.
She was looking at a car with a couple of ladies.
(We are in a questionable area of town. I don’t think anyone in our neighborhood is inherently bad, or criminal, or evil. I just don’t trust most of our neighbors, and that’s on my gut. It’s been like this for nearly 3 decades)
Anyways.
I stop halfway down, telling E to get in the car. She didn’t. She said she wanted to walk home.
Looking at the car in the intersection in front of me, there is He-He in the car.
I tell E to go straight home. She starts running.
My mind was focused – get my dog and get out of this situation.
I turned right at the side street, parking at a diagonal, placing myself between the car and my daughter.
She gets out of her car. Helios jumps out and with a tail between his legs, his ears pulled back, he hops in the car.
The ladies said they asked if E had a leash to bring the pretty doggy home. E had said no. They offered to drive them back home.
And that’s when E turned around to go home.
In the moment, I thought the absolute worst.
That they were going to chase down E if I hadn’t arrived, put her in the car, and driven off.
In the moment – I had zero clue they knew where the dog belonged or the kid. E does not have enough verbal processing yet to tell them.
But then it dawned on me.
I have been watching too much True Crime.
Nah. Just kidding.
After getting home, I realized that one of those ladies has lived in this neighborhood for decades. Of course, she would know where we lived. AND, she has seen Helios before.
He’s an escape artist.
And E? She was skipping home because she was so happy she found Helios, and that those nice ladies were going to bring He He home because she didn’t have a leash.
After I got Helios in the car, stopping him from eating a leftover burrito my husband left in the car yesterday, I had E get in the car.
And at that moment, I realized I provided a great opportunity for my kid to be abducted on the same day I had one get a life-saving vaccine.
To top it all off, E had a mild asthma attack after all the running she had just done.
I can’t even sometimes.
Adventure on with Curiosity, but don’t send your kid into questionable neighborhoods alone,
-K. Steele
