what’s a little throw-up between family members?
so…Sammy turned a year old, and with that milestone comes a dreaded trip to the pediatrician for 12-month vaccinations.
Now, Sammy is in a group of high risk kids that needs to get a monthly RSV shot during the winter months. You would think that the repetitive trips to the doctor’s office would create an air of familiarity and and odd comfort level. Yeah, stupid Daddy.
Sammy has a familiarity alright: he recognizes the turns upto a mile away from the doctor’s office and starts getting worked up. Poor kid. He can’t even calm down long enough to flirt with the nurses, like his great-grandfather taught him when he was only days young — and let me tell you, they’ve added some nurses that are closer to Sammy’s age than my age…he could be leaving the office with digits if he only put his mind to it.
Well, when Sammy gets worked up he starts coughing. Add a hefty dose of teething-induced drool to the mix, and the cough becomes a good choke, and when you kid has an elevated gag reflex, a good choking fit turns into what I like to call Daddy Get Thrown Up On.
Three shots, and a roll of paper towels, later, Sammy finally started to calm down — going outside, in the cold, always does the trick. Just as we got to the truck, a railroad crossing across the street started dinging and within a minute a commuter rail was barrelling through the intersection…and Sammy was looking, ear-to-ear smile, pumping his arm up and down like he was blowing the whistle. Shots forgotten.
He may not always recognize the times when he should flirt, but he knows the power of the train. That’s my boy!