Calgon, take me away!

180 minutes. He cried for 180 minutes. One hundred eighty minutes. TWO THREE FULL HOURS!! And I’m not talking figuratively. I mean literally. And then he conked out while I was rocking him.

Ah…the trials and tribulations of motherhood.

Admittedly, I am on a short fuse. I have been sick for months and after dealing with Peach’s ongoing ear infections, the lice, the rat, the mud daubers, and the lack of sleep, I’m not in a great frame of mind. Today, however, I just hit a wall. Having to leave a staff meeting as a result of Peach’s onslaught of tears just sent me over the edge. I can’t help but feel as though I am the weak link in our professional team. There are four of us (two rabbis, an educator, and an administrator) who make up this partnership and like a table, it wobbles if one is missing.

With tears streaming down my face, I make our way home. At first I thought that I would take the scenic route. Perhaps a little extra drive time would lull Peach to sleep. One red light put a kibosh on that well-intentioned plan. One quick (and perfectly legal) U-turn and we were on the freeway heading home.

Some of my earliest memories involve the searing pain that accompanies an ear infection. So I do know how much pain it is causing Peach. But I was unprepared for the onslaught of vomiting, fever, malaise, loss of appetite, and diarrhea. Peach’s need to be held upright is severely impacting our sleep and, consequently, we are grumpy, irritable, and just very, very tired.

What about tubes? Remember, Peach is just 9 months old. So the doctors are not so keen to rush into surgery on an infant. Tymopansotomy tubes might be in Peach’s future, however, if he is unable to clear the fluid from his ears. We go back to the pediatrician on Friday and I imagine that this might come up for discussion. Given Peach’s tender young age, we’ll probably be sent to a specialist to handle the case. One of the things that I really like about our doctors is that they’ve been treating our family since I was a kid. I trust them and know that they are caring for our kids as if they were caring for their own.

Meanwhile, I am escaping tonight for a few hours. Dinner with friends whom I have not seen for nearly 20 years. In a non-child-friendly restaurant.

A welcome respite…