I cook almost every night.
Sometimes it’s an escape. I day-dream that I”m a world-class chef about to serve my love on a plate to some A-list celebs. They rant and rave about the party in their mouth.
Sometimes it’s a freaking chore and a half because in actuality I’m cooking for a bunch of little boys who would prefer frozen chicken nuggets and Velveeta shells and cheese to any of my homemade delicacies.
Back in our heyday… BC (Before Children), the Hubby and I would dine out quite a bit. At least 5 nights a week. It was a complete and total waste of money but in BC world, money didn’t matter. We worked, we ate, we drank. I vividly remember leaving my job (where I got to wear pencil skits, fitted button down shirts and heels) and going to a bar… ALONE… and indulging in many dirty martinis. BC was the shit.
Fast forward to now… AD (After Delivery), and dining out is a novelty. And with 3 kids you have to be prepared that their behavior will quickly go to shit and you won’t even get to eat. That’s happened on numerous occasions. One kid will act up right after we order and we will run from the restaurant, to-go boxes in hand.
Saturday night we went out for dinner with the children. We had a fantastic time, the food was excellent and they were really well-behaved. It was bliss and completely out of the norm.
We had leftovers from that dinner which our waiter kindly sent us home with. I’ve been dreaming about this doggie bag for two damn days! I couldn’t wait to be able to quietly and without interruption enjoy them for lunch today.
But the best laid plans can always go to shit.
The big kids were at camp, the baby was taking a nap and it was just mommy time. That in itself should have had me on high alert but I was just so excited for my food. The microwave beep made my mouth water! I was super hungry. I hunkered down with a huge plate of food on the coffee table while I sat down to eat on the couch (a big no-no in front of the kids). I was watching some amazingly mindless daytime television and had just popped the second bite of food in my mouth when the phone rang. I absent-mindedly answered it expecting to hear a solicitor on the other end.
It was not a solicitor.
It was camp.
My 3-year-old had been running, slipped, and fell (headfirst) into a metal bleacher. He was fine, but bleeding and they thought he needed to see a doctor.
I put down my fork, packed up the baby, and rushed off to Middle Monkey with speed and focus that I had forgotten I possessed back in BC.
The fifteen minute drive to camp felt like hours. It was raining and there was a cop behind me. Sometimes having a wonderful imagination is a bad, bad thing. This was one of those times. Visions of my beautiful but precocious child bleeding and crying blurred my vision. When I finally arrived at camp I didn’t even turn off the car or move the baby, I just threw my car in park, left it running and went to assess the damage.
As I met the camp director at the curb she filled me in…
“He’s doing great. He’s such a trooper. The cut looks deep. We have it under control. He might need stitches. He didn’t even CRY.”
Wait? What?
“Yeah, he didn’t even cry. Not at all. He’s unbelievable.”
{Unbelievable is an understatement}
As I walked into the nurse’s office I found my little man, sipping on a juice box with a big gauze pad taped to his forehead.
“Hi Mom. I fell.”
I heard buddy. You okay.
“Yeah, I okay.”
Does your head hurt?
“A little.”
Holy shit.
My kid is Chuck Norris.
This little boy, who cries when he can’t have two packs of fruit snacks… This little shit, who annoys his brother to the ends of the earth, where he is finally forced to use physical violence to subdue him (barely) and then he cries like a hungry infant… This MONSTER, who weeps when I ask him to pick up a book/a toy/a sock, or worse, put down the toilet seat… This terror who sobs when he has to finish his dinner to get desert… doesn’t cry when it’s the real-time for tears?
The time when he could really be hurt and everything should be super scary is the time he has decided to be cool, calm, and collected.
Fuckin’ Chuck Norris.
And he really didn’t cry.
Through 3 hours at the emergency room, through 5 stitches in his forehead (right above his eyebrow) he was the biggest 3-year-old badass I’ve ever seen in my life.
When we arrived back home he ate an ice cream sandwich and fell asleep watching The Lego Movie.
I’m just sitting here watching him sleep and counting my blessings that this was our first trip to the ER with 3 boys and it was only for stitches.
My leftovers can wait until tomorrow.
