Head Case
Azul suffered from a head injury this weekend.
This was not his first head to floor duel, as an infant he rolled off the bed and landed on his head (this was my first official freak out as a parent), last year he fell off a chair at the kitchen counter and landed on his head (the sound of a head cracking on the tile floor was by far was the worst sound I have ever heard), but this was the first time I have had my wounded child delivered to my doorstep.
He was playing on the trampoline next door with his neighbor friend Nadia, like he has been doing on a weekly basis since she got the trampoline. I guess they were playing and the zipper door was not completely closed, so one jump too many and Azul flew through the opening like an arrow searching for its target. He landed head first on the decorative landscaping rocks.
When the doorbell rang only minutes after he had gone next door, I was immediately concerned and jumped up to answer the door. Of course it was chaos! Azul is crying and in our neighbor’s arms and her daughter is crying following along. As we do the pass off from one parent to the other, Nadia’s mom is explaining what happened and I look at his head and put him on the couch and grab a mother’s best friend, the ice pack. It was a big bump, but he was okay. An emotional Nadia and her mom headed back home. They did check on Azul later, he was recovering much better than Nadia who hadn’t stopped crying since the incident and now wanted the offending trampoline taken down.
While I was trying to make him comfortable, he yelled, “I just want some alone time!” He really didn’t like all the fussing over him and the extra attention we were giving him. All he wanted was the ice pack, some snacks and a movie. I was feeling a little concerned, but I was sure he didn’t suffer a concussion. Just then while feeling slightly more at ease and lying with him on the couch, in his weakened injured voice he said, “Can we just watch The Breakfast Club?”
Now, some may think that statement in itself is evidence of a serious head injury, but it made me feel better! He progressively felt better through the movie and at the end said, “Can we watch it again?” Maybe all his falls have knocked a few screws loose.
A Royal Something
This morning Azul said to me, “I’m pretty much treated like royalty.” Whoa — talk about out of the blue. Azul and I have about a twenty minute morning commute on the way to school. The conversations we share at this time are some if the best times we have all day, but I wasn’t expecting that.
Blinking my eyes and shaking my head, trying to understand why and what I just heard, I looked at him through my child rearview mirror. I wanted to watch him explain this. I replied, “You what?” He paused for a moment, and although he wasn’t talking, I could hear him thinking.
Finally he spoke up again, “Royalty. I don’t do anything. You do all the work. You drive, cook and set the table.” Appreciating the compliment, I said, “Thanks for recognizing that, my sweet boy!” I couldn’t help but think, Good for me. I am raising a very considerate boy who will turn in to a man who can recognize when things are done for him and not just assume that people are going to serve him, and then be able to appreciate it as well. Nice.
The euphoric thought bubble floating above my head busted when he followed up with, “It’s time I pay you off.” With a sigh and a smile on my face I asked, “Yeah, with what, cold hard cash?”
“No,” he said. “With money. I’ll give you 3 dollars.”
“Wow!” was my immediate response, and not only for the dollar amount, but for the transition from appreciated mom to paid servant. With pride and conviction he informed me, “I know it takes 4 or 5 quarters to make a dollar, I’ll give you that!”
Resigned and not sure if I just got a pay cut, I said, “Okay, I’ll take it.”
Out of Gas…Again
Oh my, no more dirty car this year! That was what I thought when I decided to declare a resolution this year. Here is a status update:
This is what my car looks like three months in to 2014. It is worse! Now I resolve to never making any more New Year’s Resolutions.
Out of Gas… (Original post from December 2013)
I know this is the time of the year to reevaluate your life, nit pick your misgivings and come up with a resolution that will change your life for the better. Whatever! I have never been a big fan of New Year Resolutions; I usually try to just keep my expectations fairly low, it seems to work for me, but my five year-old was able to glaringly point out where I need to improve.
My car stinks! And that was exactly what I said to Azul this afternoon. To be fair, I have always had a dirty car, even before Azul, but no doubt the trash has grown exponentially since his birth.
I am a true Virgo and have a deep-seated need to straighten things out — things don’t need to be super clean, just in order. My car is the exception, the one place I can let loose. So, I told my five year-old, “My car stinks!” And he replied, “Maybe it cuz I tooted in there!” In a state of amazement I then said, “You tooted in my car?” Without a second thought he said, “Yes.” I am not sure why I continued the conversation at this point, and come to think of it, I’m not sure why I do half the things I do now as a parent, but I said, “I didn’t hear it.” Immediately his response was, “Toots are quiet.” I put my head in my hands, shaking left to right, thinking, Oh my, no more dirty car this year!
Carmelina Hart 