Two Hours For 10 Minutes

This morning I headed to CB's 7:30 am orthopedic appointment over the bridge in Philadelphia in the cold rain.  Getting up and out the door by 6:30 am with a four year old and CB was a feat, but the major factor in this undertaking was all the preparation that had to occur the night prior. It is amazing how much "pre-work" must be done on the eve of this event.  You would think preparing 2  children for a short trip into the city and leaving the other 2 in the care of the husband ON A SCHOOL DAY to fend for himself without me was like excavating the Titanic.

I spent about 2 hours before bed preparing EVERYTHING so that Dr. Fabulous scarcely had to think this morning.  Last night, I dressed Rella in an outfit that was comfy enough to sleep in but could act as clothes as well so that I could just carry her out to the car in the five minutes before we pulled out of the garage this morning.  In the car I had packed our coats, a bag full of breakfast, juice and water, and CB's backpack for going straight to school following the appointment.  I had paperwork completed,  cell phone charged, and unprecedented cash for the parking garage.

Of course, Pink and Tink's outfits were laying out, hairbrushes in plain view by the sink, book bags packed with all the day's needs, lunches packed as well in the fridge with detailed instructions taped to the door on microwaving the pancakes, grabbing the icepacks to keep lunches cold, and other general reminders.

My only major faux pas was that I did not add a 8 minute buffer to make a cup of coffee for the ride.

It is astonishing to me how much work is involved to prepare others for my absence.  Usually, I don't feel that important around here, as if the world wouldn't miss a beat without me.  But the days when I must hand over the reigns and leave my job to others I have to say - I start to appreciate all that I do around this joint and hopefully everyone else does too.

Of course, Dr Fabulous is completely capable of getting kids dressed and off to school solo... it's just that who knows what they'll be wearing, if their hair will be brushed and if they will have a lunch and snack they will actually eat.  If he is not the one who usually packs the lunches, of course I wouldn't expect him suddenly know whose lunchbox is whose or that Pink won't eat a sandwich and Tink only likes a specific type of cheese.  How would he know that Pink has library today so grab her 2 books by her bedside and Tink needs to wear her sneakers for P.E. and be sure to send in 10 bucks for the Holiday store?  No, it's too much to think he will conjure this all out of midair - these are the things that are under my job description and come second nature.

Even though I got to bed early in anticipation of an early and crazy morning, CB's 11 pm seizure left me a bit sleepless the rest of the night and left her a little rough around the edges this morning.

The X-ray part of our marathon morning sucked as usual, and CB's behavior was a bit to be desired. Fortunately, I only had one little girl in tow instead of all three which is a huge improvement over years past. Rella was very quiet and helpful as CB threw and spit and whined.  At one point she hurled the bag I carefully packed with all the food and beverage across the room and Rella's apple juice container broke open and 16 fluid ounces sopped my entire bag and puddled all over the floor.  Other than that, it was relatively typical.  We survived.

The good part is that CB's spine curvature has not worsened so we don't have to go back for another two years.  I'm glad to know she is not in any pain and does not need surgery.

And that made it a pretty fantastic morning... especially after I finally got my coffee.