The day of the rock....

You know that park with the zillions of tiny rocks for safety?? You know how they always end up in your kid's shoes and pockets? Well, raise your hand if one made its way into your child's EAR! Do you see me jumping up with my hand in the air?

So, yeah, busy morning, school, doctor's appointment for Paul, and grocery store, but we STILL made it to our lunch play-date at the park in time. I was proud of myself and proud of the kids for being real troopers through our morning and here we were at the park for a reward. Me, with time to talk to other moms, and them with friends to play with on a bright beautiful Monday afternoon. We were really having a wonderful day and I was breathing a sigh of relief. We'd managed to get some schoolwork done, do all our errands, and I was ready to enjoy the relaxing part of the day.

Then, Sam comes running up screaming,"There's a rock in my ear!" I looked and sure enough.... small, round pebble lodged firmly in his left ear. HOW? I didn't bother to ask. I just calmed him down and dialed the doctor's office. It was 12noon. The nice lady on the other end of my phone suggested I bring him in at 4pm. Okay... I hung up and talked to Sam. He was unhappy, but not in pain. He didn't want to leave the park and since there was no pain, I decided to just stay, play, and keep the 4pm appointment. We DID enjoy the park and the kids got tired and dirty, so when we arrived home, I put Lizzie in bed and Sam in the shower.

4pm was rolling around faster and Sam started to freak out on the way to the doctor's office. Poor Sam. From the moment of his birth, it's been one long doctor's appointment for him. And rarely for normal childhood sickness! No.... it's for the rare Hyaline Membrane Disease at birth, and the severe reflux as a baby and toddler. Then, it's biting through his tongue when he's 2 and then the boiling water burns when he was 3, the stitches from tripping over scissors, and now..... the rock in his ear. He just cannot catch a break. And he has every right to freak.

The doctor was really pleasant and had the rock out in just a minute, but it did hurt and Sam was terrified by the time she pulled out the long sharp-looking tweezers. He was just sure she'd have to cut his ear open to remove the rock.

Finally, we were on our way home again. Missed karate and we were all hungry and tired, Sam especially. As I drove past Cracker Barrel a sudden burst of gravity pulled us in and just a short time later, we were happily chowing on all our favorites. Root beer floats finished it off and made everyone happy. So, now they are all stretched out wearily in front of the TV. Bedtime is coming and not fast enough for me!!!