when our children get sick...

In all of my 1.2 years as a parent, I've realized that there is nothing harder (thus far) than when your little love is sick and you don't know what to do to help them. She was feverish on Friday, very lethargic and missing her spark (although she still had her appetite, that's my gal, a natural born foodie!) But by Saturday afternoon, it seemed like she had turned a corner and was perking up. My parents even offered to watch her so we could have a real bonafide night out. Then yesterday, she was really fussy and didn't want to be picked up, and when she attempted to walk, she was falling over like Jennifer Lawrence at the Oscars.  Of course, lacking in resilience, I completely fell to pieces at the sight of my little one's disoriented behaviour. We whisked her off to the doctor and they said the wait time would take 20-25 minutes. So 45 minutes later, we asked if we were next and they said, due to other emergencies, we'd have to wait another 1.5-2 hours. There's no way she could last that long, so, completely discouraged, we brought her back home to sleep, with me cursing our medical system the whole way home. I was writing letters!  (I shouted to the universe). I know, in the scheme of the world, Canada's medical care is pretty amazing, but at the time, I was not (insert expletive) impressed. She didn't settle until after midnight and was up at 4 screaming and crying. I recall rocking her, trying to calm her down, and I'm pretty sure Craig was rocking me simultaneously,  trying to calm me down. As soon as the medical clinic opened this morning, I took her in and was relieved to find out that the rash on her body was just from her fever and that an ear infection was the reason as to why she was wobbling around like a drunken sailor. Craig gently broke the news to me that, alas, we will not have the world's first baby who avoids a lifetime of sickness, and that I'm going to have to endure this again. We always want to take away the pain for those we love, and sometimes we just can't. Curse you life lessons! I know I'll give a big sigh of relief when I hear her stomping around the house again soon. Goodnight loves. xo