Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Flip Flops at the Doctor

I had a well visit scheduled for Luke (7) and Jack (2) a few months ago. It was during spring break and my kids were sick. While Jack napped, I got the boys ready. I packed snacks and got myself ready. Jack slept unusually long that afternoon so I loaded the other two boys in the car and had everything packed. I ran inside and grabbed Jack’s flip-flops and then I gently lifted him out of his bed and placed him in his car seat.

Once we arrived at the doctor’s office, I unloaded Luke and Charlie. As I was unbuckling Jack, I reached down and grabbed his flip-flops. OH NO!!! I could not believe what I had done. I grabbed one of Charlie’s and one of Jack’s. In my flustered state of mind (little things like this ruffle my feathers) I rationalized that he could just wear the two different flip-flops. I would just explain that I was letting him experiment with picking out his own clothes and shoes to increase self-sufficiency.

There was just one small problem. Well, really saying that it was small is just me trying to play it cool. To be honest, from my warped “everything has to be perfect” perspective, this problem was HUGE.

The flip-flops were for the same foot!



I panicked. I considered calling the office from the parking lot and bailing out of our appointment due to a throwing up kid. No one questions the throwing up excuse. But then the "3rd time around mom voice" reminded me that no one really cares. So we walked in (well I had to carry all 35 pounds of a barefoot Jack) and acted as if nothing was amiss. Inside I was cringing with embarrassment, but what could I do?

Fortunately, I explained my mom shame to our pediatrician and she just laughed. She’s a mom of three too. She knows what it is like and made me feel a little less foolish about what I did. That’s what we get to do as moms. We laugh at each others' mistakes and cheer for each others' accomplishments.

I walked out of the office laughing at myself. That’s just life as a mom.

6 comments:

Greta said...

So funny! I have done that, or similar to it, myself. I think I forgot Lilly's shoes, or William told me he had his shoes and didn't. Whoever it was just walked around the dr.'s office barefoot and I told myself I was such a cool, laid back mom for not letting it bug me.
And you were right, I bet no one cared.
It never would have happened when I had one. But now...well, let's just say I am often brushing their hair when we get somewhere, buttoning pants, washing faces and the like. It's hard to remember everything.
Love from,
Greta

missmehoneybee said...

I think your amazing. I have only ONE baby (seven months old) Its hard for me to even get out of the house somedays, the fact that you can even get them all in car at the same time is big, shoes or not. Yesterday I tryed to put a pacifier in my moms mouth...thats how tired I get. Your soo not alone and your an inspiration. Enjoying reading your blog. :)

Kellee the Caffeinated said...

I forgot Kai's shoes completely today when we left the house to go to my parents!

Katie @ minivan diva said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Katie @ minivan diva said...

Mama Monster: We also forgot Charlie's shoes one time when we ate at a restaurant at the mall. We ran into Baby Gap to buy converse! I so relate.

Leah said...

haha. cute.