Appointments

The girl was a bit feverish over the weekend. It seems like she’s been in various states of getting sick and getting better ever since she got her first cold a couple months ago. As everybody seems to eager to remind me, this is not uncommon for kids in daycare.

Still, it seemed like a visit to the doctor was advisable. Since Xy is off work this week for Thanksgiving break, I figured she could do it. She had a dentist appointment this morning, but since the girl was still good and feverish, she had to reschedule. (She actually asked me to watch the girl while she kept the appointment, but I just took half a week off, so I said no.) Somehow I ended calling the doctor’s office to arrange things. I was on hold so long I made it halfway to work before I spoke to the nurse — and then they were so busy they had to call me back.

Got the return call at 9:20 AM. Turns out, the girl had an appointment scheduled for 8:30 that morning. In other words, while I was on hold trying to schedule an appointment, we were actually missing an appointment. Oh, the irony. It seems Xy scheduled that appointment when she took the girl in for her seven month checkup; I had no record of it, and Xy obviously had forgotten about it.

So. I made a new appointment for 10 AM, then called Xy to advise her. No answer. I called again a couple minutes later. Still no answer. A third call, no answer.

What to do? Hm. It was now 9:30 AM. If Xy didn’t get moving soon, she’d miss this appointment too.

So I rode my bike home as quickly as I could. I burst into the house all sweaty and out of breath. I may have been a bit brusque in explaining the situation. Xy asked me to change the girl’s diaper while she got ready upstairs. A couple minutes later, as I’m finishing up, I hear the sound of splashing water. Is that — Could that possibly be — No way, she wouldn’t — Yes, she is! Xy’s taking a bath.

I told her that I felt she didn’t share my sense of urgency.

Eventually we got her out the door. She even partially redeemed herself by finding my missing car key.

As of this writing she’s still sitting in the waiting room. She thinks she’s being punished. That motivated me to forgive her.