There are a lot of things I have learned from my kids, but most striking to me lately is resilience. At how many dinner tables around the world would have this conversation take place?
Daughter to my son: O, did it hurt when the Dr. took your tonsils out?
O: No, they gave me sleepy medicine and put me to sleep. It did not hurt at all.
A: Oh, I forgot they did that when I had my heart surgery!
O: No, they gave me sleepy medicine and put me to sleep. It did not hurt at all.
A: Oh, I forgot they did that when I had my heart surgery!
This is just an example of a normal dinner conversation between 5 and 6 year old siblings, right? The most amazing part is they take it for granted and say it all like it’s nothing. The only excitement was realizing they had the experiences in common.
My son had a tonsillectomy and eye surgery last Friday which prompted the conversation above. He is seriously stoic when it comes to pain. I mean he is definitely the same kid who could be convinced to apologize to the pavement after falling and hitting his head on the sidewalk. So long as he has his video games he can be oblivious to pain. Heck, the surgeon said he would be miserable for 10-12 days and not really want to eat much solid food. He ate a hamburger the evening of the surgery which I would have been more impressed with had it not been my hamburger. 😉 What can I say? We didn’t think he would eat, or if he did eat it would be from the pudding/ice cream choices he was offered. Lol. He doesn’t like the prescribed pain meds so he is making do on children’s Tylenol. Tough kid, I say. He was scared of the cream for his eyes, but he’s actually come to like the look if not the application.
My daughter tries to help him and care for him. When he was scared of the cream for his eyes, she wanted to have it in her eyes to show him it’s OK. She did fine with it in her eyes (we made sure it would be fine first). She is also very jealous that he gets cake and ice cream and jello and pudding and sprite and…all the food and drinks she likes while she has to eat normal food. She also wants to sit and play video games all day…So she is alternating between her natural inclination to nurse him and be the jealous sister which seems more natural for a 6 year old. Between the sleepless nights of anxiety and pains, our family just keeps on keeping on.
As my grandma used to say, “We’re in pretty good shape for the shape we’re in,” and some of us have cool eyes to boot.
