Second Shift

I forgot to brace myself before heading in to the house last night after work. I got cocky and just waltzed right in there like it was the end of the day or something.

I was a little later than usual because I’d had to swing by the school and pick up Alyssa from practice with her trio members and their band director. They’re prepping for the Solo and Ensemble contest in another month or so.

Olivia and I sat down and did her math (angles this time) homework, I filled out her reading and math logs and Alyssa sat at the table with us and ate a cookie.

After homework was done, I took a minute to use the bathroom. Olivia followed me even though I assured her I didn’t need company to pee. She laughed and followed me up the stairs.

As we were leaving the bathroom, Liv mentioned that her neck still hurts. The night before, she’d complained and I felt her neck and found what I thought was a swollen lymph node. I had Tom feel her neck. He compared her neck to Alyssa’s and declared it normal.

This time, the swelling in her neck was about the size of a golf ball. I declared it was time for a trip to Urgent Care. It was 5:35 at this point.

We headed downstairs, I had Tom feel her neck (only to confirm what I’d felt, we were going to Urgent Care whether he thought it was necessary or not at this point.) Thankfully, he actually agreed that she needed to be seen. She put on her boots, I grabbed my coat and purse and we were out the door at 5:45.

When we got to Urgent Care at 6:10, we were checked in right away but the lady doing the checking in told me before she even started, “All our rooms are full and there are seven people in front of you. It’s going to be a bit of a wait.”

I told her I figured that when I saw how full the parking lot was and that we would wait. Liv absolutely needed to see a doctor. We sat and watched a two year old boy throw a package of wipes around the room. We watched him throw several tantrums because his mom wouldn’t let him play in the drinking fountain. We watched him take off his shoes and throw them at his mom. We listened as people were called back to the examination rooms, counting off the people, knowing we were inching ever closer to when it was our turn.

At about 7:30, Liv leaned into me and asked, “Do you think they forgot about us?”

I assured her they hadn’t and told her to look around the room. There were only two others left, one dude who’d been there when we got there and a mom and her two year old daughter who was very obviously feverish and miserable. They’d come in after us.

We were finally called back at 7:45. The doctor declared that her lymph node was swollen due to her sinus drainage and once we cleared that up, the lymph node swelling would go down. At 8:21, he sent us on our way with a prescription for an antibiotic and one for a decongestant to help clear up her sinus and let her sleep.

We when to McD’s and got her a Happy Meal from the drive-thru because she hadn’t had dinner yet and it was almost 8:30.

At Walmart, we used one of those awesome blue carts which allows a kid to sit and eat her cheese burger, fries and Gogurt while her mother pushes her through the store toward the pharmacy. Wonder of wonders, Urgent Care had called in the prescriptions and they were actually ready for us at the pick-up counter. And better still, they were covered 100% by my insurance. I know, what are the odds?

We paid for her Reece’s and a bottle of water and were back in the car at 8:56 to head home. As we drove, she talked about being tired.

I gave her a rundown of what we’d do when we got home. She likes knowing what’s coming, what’s going to happen. It helps her prepare.

I told her, “When we get home, we’ll give you your medicine. I’ll get your pajamas, we’ll change you into your jammies, brush your teeth. I’ll rebraid your hair and then you can rest on the couch while I go make your bed. Does that sound good.”

She declared that it sounded awesome and when we pulled into the driveway at 9:20, that’s what we did.

When I came down to get her after making her bed, it was 9:50 and she was sound asleep on the couch. Poor love had had a very tough evening.

And I was, quite honestly, glad that the second shift of my day was finally almost over and I could collapse into bed too.