I learned yet another important lesson in parenting today: Just because the lunch hour is the most convenient time for you to take your kids to the doctor, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea … especially when your kids have recently started refusing morning naps and hit the wall by 1 p.m.
This, my friends, is called a parental sacrifice, and it’s something I didn’t do today. I learned my lesson. I was absolutely shot (no pun intended since we were, in fact, going in for shots) when I got back to the office today. I felt like I spent my lunch hour at the gym instead of at the clinic. I actually contemplated sneaking a quick nap in my van in the Caribou Coffee parking lot after we were done. No joke. My husband was no better. He was in charge of the boys today, and all three went home and slept.
Here’s the deal: To make the most of my time and so that I don’t cut into my daily productivity, I try to schedule necessary activities and appointments around my lunch hour. I even find myself doing some essential shopping over the lunch hour lately because I just don’t know when else to do it. So, I didn’t think much of scheduling the boys’ doctor appointments around the same timeframe. In fact, I was pretty proud of myself for landing appointments that wouldn’t interfere much with my day.
Turns out, I had it all wrong. The whole thing turned out to be a bit of a circus. The scene: Two wiggly, squiggly, squirmy, overtired monkeys. Two already-tired parents who were overdressed for the occasion and who hadn’t yet eaten lunch (the hazard, I guess, to scheduling myself over the lunch hour. I forget I actually have to eat.) Plus, it was Graham and Gray’s 1-year appointment meaning lots of shots. There was screaming, there was sweating. I think we stood during most of the appointment just because the boys were more still if we were up moving around. Who needs a workout when you have a 23-lb. child to wrangle?! Thank goodness for very kind and patient doctors and nurses, who probably see this sort of thing a lot, especially when dealing with two babies at once. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.
The good news is that G&G are both doing really well and are in good ranges for their height and weight. And, so far no major side effects or troubles from the shots. (Of course, that will probably change around 2 a.m. or something. That’s what happened last time.) Anyway, we all survived, and I picked up some more mommy know-how along the way, so I guess the day wasn’t a total bomb. Proof: I scheduled their 15-month check-ups for the morning. From now on, I’m going to stick to errands over my lunch breaks.