You Stuck That Where?
I wasn’t very surprised when the school called last week with Alexander saying he had an earache.
“Does he have a fever?” I queried.
“No, but he looks puny.” Said the receptionist.
“We had a really nice weekend and I have a feeling that he might be angling for a snuggly afternoon so I’d like you to give it another half hour.”
They gave him some Tylenol and told him to come back if he still hurt.
At 12:30 the phone rang and I hardly needed to answer it. I was at the school by 12:45 feeling Alexander’s forehead.
No fever.
“Mom, my right ear hurts a lot I need to be home. But first can I get an apricot and blueberry muffin from Starbucks?” He’s smiling at me now from the backseat and no just isn’t in my vocabulary for the moment.
We get home and shake the crumbs off. Since the pediatrician’s office is closed for lunch from 12 to 2 we have an hour to kill before I can even call for an appointment so I plunk Alexander down have a look in his ear.
I have no idea why I’m even bothering to look but I do see a big wad of wax.
Eh, why not?
I have Alexander lay down on my bed with his right ear up and I’m going to use tweezers to pull the wax out. He’s compliant, I should know at this point that something’s fishy.
I pull his skin taught and gently tug at what I assume will be a soft ball of ear wax.
Stunning when it turns white.
Even more stunning when it’s a half inch long.
“What is this?!” I exclaim.
“I dunno.”Alexander is upright now and rubbing his ear. “I can hear everything now.”
“It looks like paper. Folded up paper.”
“Oh yeah,” He sing songs, “Peter and I lost that.”
“When?”
“Definitely in April.”
I am utterly unprepared for parenthood.