Sometimes I say things that make me want to slap myself on the forehead Homer Simpson style and shout "D'Oh!"
Last week when B and I got out of the hospital I called M to give an update. B was playing in his carseat while I relayed the events of the past hour and passed on the doctor's conclusion: At the moment he's stable but she says we should start antibiotics immediately because you can feel "deathly sick" if it gets worse.
That was the actual phrase she used: doodziek
So I hang up the phone and start the car and then a small quiet voice floats up from the backseat: "So I guess I'm going to die?"
And those of you who know B's usual foghorn volume will realize how frightened he must have been to sound so timid. And how bad I felt at that moment-- I wanted to break out the hair shirt and start self-flagellation on the spot!
I tend to forget that I'm not the only one who can multitask, and that even when they seem busy that S and B are probably listening to every word I say!
Except, of course, when we're in a hurry to get out the door and I ask them (repeatedly) to put on their shoes and jackets. It's a proven fact: the quicker we need to leave the less they hear!
Beethoven may have been able to write full symphonies after deafness set in but if he were my child he would probably also have shown up at school in socks and shirtsleeves...
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