My Woes are Such Little Woes

I was sad to miss the Cold Stone Creamery Make-A-Wish event last week (they were giving out 3 oz. ice creams for a small donation with proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation). Sad, first, because I love ice cream. Sad, also, because I would have enjoyed doing a small part to encourage the Make-A-Wish Foundation, since they did a large part in blessing my brother's family. However, the nearest CSC is a half hour drive away and by Thursday evening (it was three specific evening hours), there was just no way to slip off for an hour and a half trip to get ice cream.

So, I kept the Chili's St. Jude's fundraiser day, today, in the back of my mind. Today, all of the profits from Chili's went to the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. Like Cold Stone Creamery, Chili's is not exactly down the street from our little country estate. It would have been grand to plan a family dinner there, but I knew that was highly unlikely.

Thankfully, my MS had a horrible rash on his leg, necessitating yet another doctor visit. When I called to make today's appointment, I was informed that our doctor was scheduled at the other branch (which just happened to be the same town the Chili's is in). I agreed to drive to the other office and we received a 9:45 appointment. Since hubby was home from work, YS was able to stay home.

MS has a bad case of poison ivy, not impetigo. Apparently, the scratch, which we thought resulted from a fall from his bike, was really a linear scratch from the ivy plant. When ES heard the news, he said MS had followed he and his friends out in the woods and had wandered off the path despite ES's warnings. Great. Oh well, another bottle of medicine.

The appointment went quickly, so it was only 10:30 when I arrived in the Chili's parking lot to discover they don't open until 11. Shopping with MS is never a great prospect, but I decided to risk it. We headed to T.J. Maxx to look for some hoodies for ES (who has now suggested I take them back because he probably won't wear them - he wants hoodies from Hollister).

Our lunch was interesting. It didn't seem like anyone around even knew that it was a special day at Chili's. Another blogger mentioned that there were two radio stations urging people to come out at their Chili's. At this one, the girl who led us to our seats didn't even remember that this was the St. Jude fundraising day.

My MS decided that he wanted mac & cheese and french fries. That is, until the waitress had left and he was impatiently waiting for the food. Then, he decided that he was getting a cheeseburger (can you tell that we don't take these boys out much?). I tried to explain that we hadn't ordered a cheeseburger. In the end, he ate maybe four or five bites of the macaroni and one third of the fries. Since I had finished my soup and salad, I decided to help him eat the fries. I added ketchup (because I wanted to dip them) and from that point on, it was as if I had poured poison on his food. He didn't want to eat them, insisting that he only likes ketchup on fish sticks not fries. I pointed out that only three fries were touching the ketchup, so chances were great that he could snag a ketchup-free fry, but he would hear none of it. At least he drank all of his chocolate milk. And, instead of getting vocal about wanting to go, he decided to merely lay down across the seat and pretend to sleep (I can deal with that) while we waited for the bill. Still, I think I would have preferred a date with my husband at Chili's instead of a date with my 4 year old.

This afternoon, I then took my ES to the doctor's office to have some blood tests. He continues to struggle with unresolved stomach issues, despite attempts to alter his diet. Tomorrow he begins a new medication, used to treat irritable bowel syndrome (I'm sure he'd much rather I blog about his Rock Band prowess, instead of his digestive system) and he will see a GI doctor in October.

Of course, when I sign on to blog, I often check on the Care Pages/Caringbridge sites and blogs of others first. Thanks to the blogging world, I have regained perspective. Yes, I may have lost the photos from one day of a birthday party, but another blogger may have lost all of her photos from the last few years because her computer crashed and she hadn't backed them up. Yes, we are in the doctor's office enough that I'm ready to embroider our initials on the waiting room chairs, but our medical issues are all trifles compared to the battles many are engaged in. We still have a gaping hole in our ceiling downstairs, but our house remains livable and the damage was really minimal considering what could have been. And if many of those others can continue to put on a happy face in spite of their mountains compared to my molehills, then I should count my blessings.

And so, I'll end with what my MS asked me to blog about tonight (too funny). He said, "Mommy, I want you to write on your blog tonight about how fast I went on my bicycle when we went to the park this weekend." It was, indeed, a highly unexpected blessing. He had been begging to bring the bike (instead of the wicked double stroller which allows me to get the most effective workout, but causes him to feel like a baby). I was skeptical. I figured the boy would be stopping every few feet to look at a new bug or leaf or dog, etc.

He shocked me good. That boy cooked around the trail. Most of the time, I had to yell to tell him not to get so far ahead that I couldn't see him. He even rode his bike up almost all of the steep hill, then we put his front wheel on the basket of the single stroller and walked down the hill. He did stop for two dogs, but we kept the visits brief. I didn't fare too bad for a work-out, since at times I had to run to keep up with him. I guess we'll be passing our double stroller onto another needy mother at the crisis pregnancy center (whenever I'm heading over to that town next). Hopefully, she'll reap as many blessings from that stroller as I have over the past few years. Hopefully, her life will be full of tiny woes, not big ones.