Days Like This

Last Wednesday was one of those days. You know the ones that come along every now and again when nothing seems to go right. Like from the moment you wake up and realize that your baby is still constipated and you will, indeed, have to do a baby suppository. And you're kind of afraid.

And then, once the baby is taken care of, you notice that your dog is strangely drooling out of the side of his mouth. After further inspection it becomes clear that there is a serious problem, although it's impossible to tell exactly what it is. The only thing you know is that she can't close her mouth and dog saliva is everywhere.

So you have to call the vet, but before you can do that your son is interrupting, saying, "I accidentally broke something in your room," which is something you never want to hear.

"What did you break?" you tentatively question.

"You know the door under your sink? I was getting down and my pant leg caught on it, and I broke it."

You think for a brief moment that he possibly just pulled it out of the hinges, and funny enough, for a second, you're even kind of grateful. After all, you'll settle for as little damage as possible...but then you actually see the door. Somehow it's broken into pieces. You quickly add that to the running tally which you will charge your son for various destructions when he graduates college and finally gets a paying job. Until then, you have to figure out who made the cabinets. Hopefully they are still in business and you can get another door made. Add that to the already long list of things to do today. Things that you still have not even started.

Once said son finally gets off to preschool, you call the vet to see if he can see your sad and miserable dog, who is still drooling long strings of saliva that you must keep wiping from her chin and various surfaces of the home. The veterinarian can see her at 2:00 pm--a most inconvenient time in that it doesn't allow you to get to the grocery store as planned, nor allow you to be home when your son will be getting out of school, and it is smack-dab in the middle of baby's nap time.

What is a mom to do? You plop the baby into his carseat and pick up the son from school early. He is thirsty, so you buy him the bright red Hi-C Fruit Punch, against your better judgment, which he almost immediately spills on his brand new white t-shirt. All you can see is laundry and stain removal. Another addition to the continuing list of things to do today.

Finally you reach the vet's office, home of the most condescending people in the world. The dog nurses look down their noses at you because you are late in getting the dog's vaccinations and because you won't agree to get his teeth cleaned for a mere $400-600. Apparently they are not aware that you are a bad mom let alone a bad dog owner. However, you put up with their dirty looks because they can manage to yank out the inch long beef bone fragment that somehow got lodged in the dog's gums. You'd love to give the doggy all the attention she deserves after such an incident, but the baby begins to wake up needing to eat.

Determining that breastfeeding at the veterinarian's is not the most appealing option, you struggle to get everyone back in the car and head home. Looking at the clock you quickly calculate that it might be possible to get home, get the baby fed, still get to the grocery story, and manage to get dinner made on time. Maybe. But there are no guarantees.

After all, that's what days like these teach you. Nothing goes according to plan. Life 101.