Friday, July 8, 2011

Thank God for strangers with candy

Yesterday morning I had to get blood drawn.

When I was first screened for Lyme my liver function was a little low. The antibiotics are known to impact the liver so my doctor wanted me to go in for a blood-draw to check again and see if everything is fine now hat I'm done with the drugs Woo Hoo!!!

I got to the lab a little after 9 thinking that I would come in after the I-have-to-get-to-work crowd had come and gone. I was so wrong.

When I signed in the woman at the desk asked me if I would rather go to another location because there was more than an hour wait. While waiting in the crowded and otherwise quiet (not for long) waiting area didn't sound like fun neither did packing the kids back in the car and schlepping all over town to find another lab location.

I had some juice boxes and some snacks and Henry was happy enough to sit in the stroller for the first 45 minutes or so. Well eventually Jack got bored, the juice boxes were tapped and Henry wanted to get down and play. Kill me, kill me now.

Most of the other people in the waiting room ignored us completely (meaning they didn't throw judgmental or pity glances our way). A few people smiled and chatted with me or the boys for a minute. But then the sh*t hit the fan. Jack announced he wanted to leave and go to a playground and Henry feeling that was a brilliant idea indicated his agreement by screeching, over and over and over again. The woman next to me turned to Jack and presented him with a notebook and a pen and said "Would you like to color?"

I just about burst into tears. It really wasn't thar bad, the kids were surprisingly great through most of the grueling wait. Did I mention this was a fasting blood draw? So this woman came to my rescue at about 10:00. I've been up since 6 and I haven't eaten. Anything. My hero sat with Jack and was quickly joined by Henry who both colored and made requests for rockets and flowers, we are nothing if not eclectic. We talked about her kids (grown) but mostly we talked about Jack's favorite subject- himself.

I don't live in an area where people are notoriously friendly and helpful, especially not with complete strangers. So this woman, my waiting room friend, and her paper and pen was just a little extra special.

This is one good deed I will certainly pay forward!

1 comment:

Gail said...

Once a mom always a mom! The good ones don't ever forget what it's like with little ones! What a nice woman! Also, I'm sure the fact that the boys were so good for so long and that you had brought snack/entertainment made a big difference. It's the kid who fusses from the moment he gets there and the parent who does nothing but yell at him (or worse yet, ignores him) that gets the dirty looks and no help!