A Relaxing Afternoon Nap

It was Sunday afternoon. We were coming home from church and planned to spend a relaxing afternoon at home before heading back for evening service. I was so looking forward to going home, putting on my track pants, and enjoying a nice long nap. It was a perfect opportunity for bonding: Shady with Amanda, and me with my pillow.

But I remembered that we didn’t have anything exciting to have for lunch. I figured it would be harmless to stop and pick up some groceries first…I hadn’t gone grocery shopping in who knows how long, and since Shady was with me to help this was the perfect opportunity.

By the time we got home and lugged in all the groceries, I had really earned my nap. Except that first I just had to put the groceries away. Shady and Amanda were playing on the carpet, and I was resisting the urge to reorganize the entire fridge while putting away the food. Amanda, who now enjoys the freedom of crawling around the entire house, had made her way into the dining room where she discovered the wall vent. I smiled to myself as she began to play it like a guitar. Up and down she stroked her fingers, enjoying the sound it made.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Moments later I glanced over to find that while exercising her musical abilities on the wall vent, she had somehow cut her finger. There was blood everywhere. And I do mean everywhere! Blood on the vent, on the floor, her dress, her legs, her face. Even her ears. All from one tiny cut on her finger that she wasn’t even aware of.

I panicked. And then I did the most logical thing I could think of.

“Shaaaaaddddyyyy!!!”

As Shady rushed over to clean up the war zone, I rushed Amanda upstairs to find some bandaids and stop the bleading. The next half hour could have been an infomercial for why every parent should take a first aid course. Countless baby wipes…numerous discarded bandaids that were far too large for her tiny finger….blood spilling on the carpet, on Amanda, on me.  I had no idea how to treat this tiny little cut that was producing far more blood than I ever thought possible. I think it was around that time that Amanda clued in that something was wrong. And that’s when she started crying. Actually crying isn’t the right word…screeching is more like it.

Shady came upstairs to my rescue and we sat with her on the bathroom floor… which had now been transformed into an operating room…throwing ideas around of how we can stop the bleeding and get her to calm down.

Half an hour later, with a make shift cast that was far too big for her finger, and Amanda’s dress soaking in dish soap in the bathroom sink, Shady and I leaned against the wall on the bedroom floor. Amanda looked at us with an expression that said “you really didn’t handle that very well.” We resolved that vents were a bad idea and that we really needed to invest in children’s bandaids.

Back downstairs to resume the original task of putting the groceries away. Of course by then the interesting lunch I had planned (which now fell into the category of an early dinner) seemed largely disappointing. And in the chaos of it all I had completely forgotten to feed Amanda (another proud moment for me). So we ate. And she ate….and you guessed it….it was soon time to drive back to church for evening service. Needless to say (though I’ll say it anyways) I didn’t have my nap.

When I envision a mother who is to be admired, this scene is not what comes to mind. But I did learn some important lessons from the fiasco with the heating vent. I learned that I really need to be flexible. Just because I have an idea of how my afternoon is going to be spent, doesn’t mean that’s what I’ll actually get to enjoy. I can have a bad attitude about it, or I can embrace it and make the best of it. And for future reference, reflecting on what went wrong and who should have done what differently is important…but not while the baby is panicking and crying.  In fact as a general rule try to avoid having any kind of meaningful conversation while a baby is crying….chances are it won’t go well. And most importantly…when I’m tempted to think I’m an amazing mother who has it all together, remember these moments to keep me humble.

It’s times like these that Shady and I can look back on and laugh at our inexperience. Perhaps God does allow them to humble us, show us how much we need Him in every moment, and how important it is for Shady and I to be united as we learn how to be parents…together.