The Making Of A Man

Domino’s bout with pink eye last week prompted a visit to the pediatrician. It’s a new office for us and we’ve only been twice before in the past year and a half. We don’t get sick much, thankfully.

The nurse called to Domino in the waiting room and said it was his turn. We got up and headed down the hall with her. She started what I thought was small talk with Domino “How old are you?”, “What’s your birthday?”. All of which he answered just fine. She then said “So, that means you are about 6 years, 2 months, 3 weeks and 4 days, right?”, he just stood there with a blank look on his face. I chimed in “That’s probably about right”. The nurse looked at me and said, in a syrupy tone that let me know that I was to keep my mouth shut from this point forward, “Thanks Mom, but I wasn’t asking you.”

This non-intermediary questioning continued with the doctor. She asked him all sorts of questions and when I felt like he wasn’t answering fast enough in a glowing fashion accurately I had to fight the urge to provide my version.

“Do you like burritos?” She asked him.
“No. I only like cheese quesadillas” he answered.
“How about chicken quesadillas? They have lots of good protein.”
“No, I only like cheese.”
“How about with some beans? Those are a good source of protein, too.”
“No, I don’t like beans.”
(Me silently screaming “He does like beans! He loves beans! I sneak them into his quesadillas all the time and he calls it ‘special brown sauce’! I’m a good Mom! Really! I get him to eat protein!!”)

He wasn’t just questioned about small talk stuff - he was asked all of his medical questions – when the pain started, where it is now, how he’s been feeling the past couple of days. She asked if any of the kids in his class have been sick and asked if he can swallow pills for his medicine.

She then turned to me and asked “Has he been running a fever?” MOTHER OF THE YEAR! It didn’t even occur to me to take his temperature…

I’m guilty of being a “helicopter mom”, constantly hovering and ready to swoop in and rescue if I feel it’s needed. I’m beginning to see the volume of stuff that other trusted adults (teachers and doctors) feel like he can - and should - handle and it’s very enlightening.

I left the office feeling relieved that Domino is a healthy kid (minus the pink eye/ear infection of course), but I also left realizing that he is growing just too darn fast. I will always be his biggest and most vocal advocate, but I can see that he needs me to speak on his behalf less and I have to trust that. I don’t know if I’m ready just yet to accept it, but for his benefit I have to try.