A Day in the Life

Wake up. Day 8. Still nothing. What the heck is wrong with me? Coffee, coffee, breakfast for Kiddo, quick shower, dress everyone, quick IM chat, head out the door. Drive over to favorite doughnut place for kolaches and blueberry cake doughnuts because today is a cruddy day and I want it. Sit in the drive thru line for 5 minutes. "Open" neon still on, but no one comes to the window. Ugh. Drive off, cursing crappy doughnut place, thinking about peanut butter crackers in purse. Yuck.

Drive for 30 minutes across town to "clinic" for blood test. Conversation on phone yesterday: Quiet Girl says no need for appointment, but must get there before nurse leaves for the day for brief "consultation". Arrive in plenty of time, told immediately would have to wait because nurse is booked up for the day. Reminded QG she said no need for appointment (while holding squirming 2 year old), can't wait because of squirming 2 year old. Turn off ringing cell phone and remember seeing a strict "no phone" policy sign on door. QG says, right, no appointment needed, but wait required until people with appointments have been seen. ugh. QG also says, results in 1 and 1/2 weeks - WHAT? If I had a week and a half to wait I wouldn't need the darn blood test! Leave exasperated and defeated after squirming 2 year old knocks large stack of forms off the counter and scatters them everywhere. (yes, I picked them up)

Get outside and check message on cell phone. Hubby: I left my phone at home, if you haven't left yet could you bring it to me? *sigh* Call Hubby, cry about failed attempt at test, tell him he can have my phone. Head over to his office. Hubby suggests I call my ob, explain no insurance and see if they can do the test. Lose track of thought while listening to Hubby, get on wrong freeway, curse, get off freeway, turn around to again head toward Hubby's office.

Kiddo happy to see Hubby in parking lot. Call ob nurse. Sure, can do test. Same day results? Yes. They will call back to let me know when I can come in. Cost?? Don't know. Decide to go to grocery for another test, leave Hubby without cell phone.

Drag Kiddo through grocery. Buy test. Total $13.13 - that can't be good. Go to McDonald's to appease Kiddo with french fries. Test in gross fast food bathroom. Negative. Up to counter to place order, squirming Kiddo on hip, vagrants all over the place, lots of screaming kids. This is why I never come here. Poor guy tries to take my order over the commotion and phone rings. Dr.'s office - gotta take it. I can come by after 1:30 - great. That gives us about an hour to eat and hang out. Kiddo loves McDonald's. Lovingly hugs me every so often between bites of grease-laden potato, my stomach is turning just from breathing in the grease-laden air. $8 for a half eaten happy meal and barely touched something I didn't even want.

Finish eating, Kiddo wants to play on gigantic outdoor play area. It's cold, the play thing is really more suited for older kids. I take Kiddo away screaming and promise him we'll go play across the street at Chick-fil-A. Indoor, smaller play scape there. Kiddo screams all the way over, thru the parking lot and the restaurant. Get into play area, he's happy. After about 15 minutes of shyness, he makes a friend or two and climbs all the way to the top. Hangs out there for the rest of the time. I watch small creatures wipe handfuls of snot on every surface of play scape. Make mental note to bathe in alcohol later. It is time to go, I can't get him down. Call his name, he looks at me with mischievous grin from 15 feet up. There is no way my 6 ft. frame can get up in that thing. Moms look at me with evil grins. How's she going to get him down? hee hee hee. Cute, petite mom tells me she climbed up in it 7 months pregnant. Yeah well, there's a foot and a half less of you to fold up. Call Hubby to see if he wants to come over and hang out while I run to get blood drawn. He can't leave work. I pray Kiddo comes down, I call his name, he hides in tunnel. I pray some more; look to other moms for maybe a helpful hint. They avoid my gaze. Finally kick my shoes off in defeat and look up to notice small heard of children shoving Kiddo in the tunnel that goes to the slide. Say quick prayer that he follows them. Suddenly a big ball-o-kid comes down the slide. Arms and legs and heads everywhere, Kiddo's big grin right in the middle. Hallelujah! I scoop him up, he says "FUN, SLIDE, AGAIN!!!!". I say no time to go, he screams bloody murder, we quickly exit. Now the mom's look at me. great.

Kiddo's diaper is soaked. Look for emergency bag, it's not in the car. Neither are the wipes, or a change of clothing. Great, just great. Pray diaper will hold a little longer. Have to force Kiddo into car seat. He screams all the way to the Dr. We get out, go to the office and I sign in. Get brought back to the lab, blood drawn, tech says - we'll have the results for you first thing in the morning. I collapse in a heap of tears. I need to know TODAY. They told me I could get results today! Open enrollment ends today, I need to know. Beautiful, wonderful, amazing tech says she's a single mom of three, she understands (what the heck does that mean?) she'll draw again and do a quick test on the sly. Don't tell anyone 'cause they'll charge me extra. Who cares, I just need the test! I thank her profusely, she tells me to come back in 15 minutes. Kiddo and I go walk laps around the floor. He thinks it's fun to count the glass windows around the edge and hug the gigantic round pillars that are every 10 feet. We make a game out of it, he has lots of fun. Again I pray the diaper holds. We go back in after 15 minutes. Kiddo sits on my lap and I feel something wet on my leg. No, no, no! Please make this quick. Tech calls me back to tell me the test was negative. She has sad look on her face, then seems confused that I am not sad with her. I thank her again and quickly leave.

Kiddo crashes out in car on drive home, wakes every so often to cry out because he is soaked. I cry the whole way home. Relieved, I guess, disappointed too. Still don't have an answer to why I'm late. Scared about that. Curse the insurance company for forcing us to wait another year. Mourn because it puts Kiddo that much closer to being an only child. This is not what I wanted.

Summary: days late - 8
hours in the car away from home - 6
cruddy clinic - 1
sad/happy/scared/happy/sad/wet/sleepy toddler - 1
at home tests - $13.13
junk food - $8
test at ob's office - God only knows$????
Lots of tears and gasoline and miles on the car
All of that only to actually start the next day, on Hubby's birthday. Priceless

I need a vacation.
D :)