The day started off so well.
We all managed to get out of the house only 5 minutes late (a record for a Monday). Chatterer awakened at 5 a.m. with a potty emergency (no accident, but boy, did he need to go. The laws of physics would suggest a 4 year old shouldn’t have that much capacity, but I digress). He managed to go back to sleep, although I did not. Anyway, we’re all up and running around and ToaM is still sleepy. As in he took his blanket and curled up on the floor with it to go back to sleep. Which was very cute… or so we thought.
I started the car and the idiot light for the gas came on, which always annoys me because I HATE filling up my car, and I do it once every four commuting days. So, after I dropped off ToaM at school, I went to the gas station down the street to fill up. I normally don’t let Chatterer get out of the car while I fill up the tank for very obvious reasons. Today was different. It’s been raining and trying to clear off, which is perfect weather for rainbows. There was a brilliant one this morning, almost giving rise to a second one. Complete arc and everything. So Chatterer and I admired it for a few minutes at the gas station and we continued on to Chatterer’s school, where the rainbow reappeared for a couple of minutes. I told Chatterer that rainbows are good luck. I dropped him off with his breakfast, with instructions that he needed to finish his banana and that he needed to drink his milk (usually he gets apple juice with breakfast, but it has the opposite effect of what was necessary given his early morning bathroom experience).
I enjoyed the drive to work and the quiet time. I pulled into the garage downtown and parked the car. No sooner had I turned off the car than my phone rang. The number was ToaM’s school. My stomach sank. The only reason to call this early is if ToaM is sick. It turned out he threw up (or whatever euphemism you prefer) all over the room, including once on the carpet and once on the tile. Given the foulness of it all, he couldn’t stay at school today. (I completely agree with that assessment.) Naturally, since I had just driven 45 minutes to work, I was hoping MM could get ToaM and I would come home early so he could go back to work and not take the time off. So I called MM, who said that he would cancel his dentist appointment to have the final crown put on his tooth. I had completely forgotten about that. Not wanting to risk MM breaking the temporary crown between now and whenever he could get another appointment, I agreed to go into my office, quickly send e-mails to my bosses that I would be available all day on my cell and online, and head home. He agreed to stop at the grocery store on his way to the house after his dentist appointment to pick up fresh milk (always a likely suspect in these types of incidences) and some Pedialyte, just in case it was more serious.
I headed home, calling ToaM’s school to give them an ETA. ToaM was smiling and chatty all the way home, except for the obvious stench. He clearly needed a bath (doesn’t everyone need a bath or shower after that experience?). No sooner had I filled the tub and undressed ToaM down to the diaper and shoes and socks (don’t laugh, it makes sense in my world) my cell phone rang. I was using my earphone thing (mandatory in California) so I had no idea who was calling. To my surprise, it was MM. I wondered if he was calling to see if I needed anything else at the grocery store, as he usually does, but it seemed a little early for him to be there already. It was. In fact, he couldn’t get to the grocery store. He drove the Z Car to work and to the dentist. California law requires that headlights be on if it is raining. California law does not require that old cars be retrofitted with idiot alerts when one leaves the headlights on. As I assessed the situation, it became clear: it was going to be one of THOSE days. I explained to MM that he was just going to need to wait for a few minutes because ToaM was really stinky and the bath was already going. I bathed ToaM, dressed him, and started the laundry from school (including the shoes, which are leather, because he hit EVERYTHING) and headed out, making sure to grab the emergency jumper cable generator/radio/catch-all type device. I arrived at the dentist to find MM waiting and (probably) playing on his iPhone (a Christmas gift from me). He took the portable jumper cable thingie and tried to start the Z Car. No dice. He tried again and the car whimpered a little. Finally, I rolled down my window and suggested we take the jumper cables out of the back of his Pilot (which I was driving) and use them from the Pilot to jump start the Z Car. Thankfully, it worked, just as the dentist stuck her head out of the office door to make sure we were ok.
The punchline? ToaM seems a little under the weather, but otherwise perfectly fine. He ate his usual lunch and dinner, drank milk (from a new jug) and seems his usual self. He took a 3 1/2 hour nap (don’t you want to be 18 months old again just for the naps?) and is back in bed as I type. And, if he hadn’t been sick today, MM would have needed to call someone at his office or elsewhere to come jump start his car. This way the exposure is limited to me and everyone who reads this blog. Seems like a good night for something alcoholic to drink.
