It happened today. We had to take Drew to the ER for the first time. He was cruising along the hallway toward the living room like he's done a hundred times. When he reached out for the speaker that is sitting on the floor next to the TV, somehow he slipped & busted it. He loves to stand up at that speaker and beat on it. What's with babies & beating on things anyway? So Drew cried as he often does when he has a hard fall, but nothing abnormally long or hard. Then, I noticed it. A large, bleeding gash next to his left eye. It immediately swelled up. "Looks like a boxer's cut," David says. Sounded bad to me. Of course, being a new mother, I started crying. We paged the nurse on call at our clinic to find out what to do. I hated to bring him to the ER only to find out we over-reacted. But, she told us to go & off we scurried. The staff was great. I think they could read the shock & worry on my face. Luckily, no stitches were required. Just some glue-stuff to hold the skin together. Just slap on some glue & Drew is back to his old self again. We, on the other hand, are gasping nervously, as he cruises & toddles around.
Visit to the emergency room = $100
Elmer's glue = $1.50
Doing what it takes to take care of your kid = priceless
No, Drew didn't really ask for an Official Red Rider Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle. And there was no cantankerous elf. There was a nice lady who tried to make Drew smile with a stuffed Elmo doll. He sat there on Santa's knee with a confused look on his face until he finally tried to squirm off. We had two pic options. We went with this one. "It looks as though Drew just told a really funny joke & Santa is laughing so hard his eyes are closed," explained the elf, er, assistant. David & I debated on whether or not we should partake in this Christmas ritual. It seemed awfully cheesy, but then again, that's part of the fun of it!
