Llama Llama Careless Mama.....

These little people......

I love them so much......too much. 

We have a regular sitter, Alyssa. She's here every Wednesday while I take Gage to the library and every at least one other day while I work in his classroom. She watches the kids for all kinds of other appointments and errands. We are so fortunate to have her. Alyssa does a lot of fabulous things-she cleans out the dishwasher and takes out the garbage. She helps with the laundry and keeps the house tidy when she's here. She also takes the kids to the park and brings bubbles for the backyard. But my favorite thing about Alyssa is that she gives a loving greeting to each of my children when she arrives and every time she leaves. She always tells Gage something like, "Good luck at your soccer game" or "You were really helpful today" She always asks Gracie to give her a love before she goes. She goes to each of the babies and brushes their cheek or rubs their back to say goodbye. I love that.....more on that in another post. 

Anyway-I don't worry about the kids with her. I don't really worry about my kids at all. I'm not a worrier by nature. My friend Chrissy, over at Life with Greyson and Parker wrote this post comparing herself to Wilma Jean the Worry Machine. I laughed. And realized my book would be something more like Llama Llama Careless Mama (not a real book, but maybe it should be). It's rare for me to worry......it recently kinda bit me in the behind......

I got a notice in Gage's communication folder from school that we needed to show proof of a recent physical by November. He was current on all his vaccines and I thought he'd had a physical within the 18-month time requirement so I called his doctor. They let me know that Gage hadn't been seen in two years. Oops. He's always been healthy and I didn't realize that much time had passed. I let them know that Gage needed to get in soon and was informed that the earliest opening was December. I would need to take him somewhere else or wait for a cancellation. An hour later she called me because they had a cancellation. I had one day's notice and it was at the exact same time we had our appointment for the walk-through of the rental house. So I called Alyssa. I decided that she would take Gage for his well-child visit for me......because he's healthy-nothing to worry about. 

Around the time I thought his appointment should be done I sent Alyssa a text to check on Gage. She replied that she would call me back......hmm, that's weird. Shortly after my text she called and filled me in on his appointment......where she and Gage learned that he has an inguinal hernia and would likely need surgery. What?!?! She gave me Dr. Martin's explanation of the surgery and what it entails. First of all-had I any knowledge they would be doing a groin check at his appointment I would have waited until I could go myself. Second-my son needs surgery!! What?!? 

Ugh....it was a real mom-of-the-year moment for me. Alyssa said that Gage told Dr. Martin, "Um.....I think we need to talk to my mom about this first!" and since he was obviously a little stressed out so she took him for an ice cream before returning to school. That's what I get for being so laissez faire.......guilt that I wasn't there with him in such a moment. The good news is that kids are resilient......Gage has already moved on. We've now been to Children's Hospital to confirm that he will need surgery......and in typical Gage fashion he is excited-it's taking everything he has not to tell EVERYONE about it.

The number one compliment I get as a mother (from other mothers) is that I'm so calm.......at least, I take it as a compliment. It has a down side......ONE-I don't worry-even when I probably should and TWO-I really only feel comfortable in calm. I don't get excited easily-good or bad. I thrive in peace and quiet....which can be challenging for a mother of four. Recently, another mom came by in the afternoon. While she was here I noticed she gave such an animated response to everything my kids said or did. I've seen her do it with her own children, often. Gage was giving her the raised eyebrows and almost shocked laughing smile. I was admiring that, because that's something I rarely give my kids. Even when my kids to something that warrants a really excited "Good Job!!" they don't usually get it. It just doesn't come to me naturally. That's okay......I recognize my own strengths and weaknesses.

Maybe I'll work on getting more excited......or maybe I'll just work on getting more peace and quiet.....depends on who I am that day.....

Love.