What a day! (A novella)

I didn't go into work today until noon, so I was the lucky one that got to take Natalie in to get her shots and drop her off at preschool afterwards. I was dreading her getting the shot. I just kept thinking of last time, when I had to hold her arms down as she screamed, red-faced in pain. That was a year ago, but I didn't know if that meant this morning would go better, or if it simply meant it would be a new and different horrible experience! Natalie was excited, though, and we even watched "Elmo Goes to the Doctor" before we left this morning. She was excited to get her heart, ears, eyes, tummy and mouth checked out, just like Elmo. I kept thinking "yeah, but Elmo didn't get needles jabbed into him like a voodoo doll".

We got to the Doctor's office, and it was going great. Dr. Murray said Natalie's heart sounded great, she looked good, her growth was perfect...Dr. Murray even said Natalie was a clever girl, when she identified several colors that Dr. Murray pop-quizzed her on. Then...it was time for the shot. (Cue dramatic music)

I tried to prepare Natalie (and myself) by telling her it was going to pinch a bit, but like Sid the Science Kid said, "It might hurt a little bit, but it's going to help a whole lot". The nurse came in, wielding the dreaded needle. Wait..."needle", in the singular form? That was different. Last time, Natalie got a series of shots. Hmm. The nurse had Natalie lay back, and told me to hold Nat's hands, and "no matter what, don't let go of her hands!"

I sighed and thought "Ok, no going back now"...I smiled down at Natalie, much like I imagine an owner smiles down at the dog they are about to put to sleep. The nurse told Natalie to take a deep breath, and blow it out like she was blowing out a birthday candle. Well, she just blew out her real birthday candle less than two weeks ago, so the nurse didn't have to tell Natalie twice. Nat did a great job, and before she could get her first "candle" blown out, I glanced down at her leg, and saw the nurse sliding the needle into Nat's thigh. I quickly turned my focus back to Natalie's face, which was starting to flush with, presumably, a mixture of pain and a sense of betrayal. Surely she had realized she'd been duped, and I'd been had. I braced myself for that realization to manifest itself into a plaintive wail, but I quickly joined in with Nurse Rhonda, telling Natalie that it was over and she was a big girl! I looked at Natalie hopefully, and to my surprise, she was...fine?! She didn't cry, she didn't frown, she didn't even crinkle her nose or say "ow". She simply looked down at her newly acquired Daffy Duck band-aid and said "Look- happy faces!" She even said the band-aid made her happy!

Yeah!! This was going to be a great morning! As we walked from the Doctor's office to the elevator, she happily said "Ok, now I go home with Daddy!".

Uh oh.

"No, sweetie, we're going to Big Girl School, remember?"

"But...I want to go home with Daddy."

The truth was, I wanted to go home and spend the day with Natalie too. But I knew that wouldn't do any good for either of us in the long run.  And besides, Natalie liked Big Girl School, so no big deal. As we walked to the truck, Natalie was sounding more desperate about going home with me. I explained that I would go into the school with her, and take her to the potty, and talk to Mrs. Powers together. She said ok. She was on board. Whew, bullet dodged.

We got to the school, and when we entered the classroom, several of the kids said "Hi, Natalie!". It made me feel good that maybe she was making new friends here already. We went potty, and talked to Mrs. Powers like I had promised. I even got to meet "Grandma Virginia", who is not only very sweet, but seemed to have taken quite a shine to Natalie. They were getting on so well, in fact, that I told Virginia I was going to go ahead and leave. Remember that plaintive wail that never materialized earlier? There it was!

I instinctively spun on my heel and started back toward Natalie to console her, but Virginia waved me off and said that she'd be okay. I quickly left, hoping all the while that I wouldn't hear Natalie screaming as I walked through the halls. I didn't hear anything, but I still felt awful. Nickie said that Natalie is a routine girl, and it sure is true. It's funny how things worked out. My expectations for how the morning was going to go were completely turned upside down. If nothing else, Natalie has taught me to expect the unexpected!