We’re closer to healthy now, though three of us have that lingering cough. I kept my doctor’s appointment yesterday (with my Good Doctor) even though I was feeling significantly better. I’d had one day the week before where I thought I had recovered, only to find myself backsliding the next day. I thought it was wise to keep the appointment and just get myself checked.
Dr. and I had a long chat about the latest research into antibiotics and resistant bacteria. We talked about the last three serious reviews of echinacea, and how the most recent seems positive again. Dr. wrote out a list of things to jump into immediately when the next virus starts - it’s not just mega-dosing Vitamin C anymore. He handed me a prescription slip with the list: NAC 600, grapefruit, garlic, echinacea. We talked about the trip to Guatemala and he chatted with JediBoy about the Star Wars book we’d brought along.
Dr. asked him his age (5) and then whether he was in kindergarten yet. JediBoy pulled out the old standard: “I’m never going to school. I’m homeschooled.”
Dr. next asked an unusual question - whether he’d started learning to play an instrument yet, the recorder maybe. JediBoy shook his head and said he wanted to learn to play “cool guitar.” Dr.’s eyes lit up, as he’s a guitar player himself. He and JediBoy talked for a few minutes, and he gave me some advice on finding the best child-size guitar. So on my second prescription slip, it reads: Acoustic Guitar magazine / Spielberg.
I’ve never had a Guitar Prescription before!
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Later last night, JediBoy came into the room and asked if anyone here was “I-L-L.” (He’s started spelling words aloud, like many grown-ups in his life do, since BabyGirl arrived. Particularly B-O-T-T-L-E.)
We role-played for a while about who might be ill, and then he asked, “Do you know how I figured that out? I was in the bathroom reading our old chart that says Pee For Drill and Take Your Pill, so I knew I-L-L spelled ill.”
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When I struggle with the guilt that I’m not giving JediBoy the time and attention he deserves, that too much of our lives are focused on BabyGirl, I remind myself of these two things:
1. Environmental learning is real and ever-present, so that even if I don’t have time to spend hours reading aloud, helping him with experiments or setting up new art projects, he’s still learning. Other adults in his life care about him and help him along his journey, and his own curiosity can’t be dampened.
2. He’s learning a lot (besides how to spell bottle) from being with her and being with me as I take care of her. One of the main reasons we chose to deplete our entire life savings and then some on the adoption was that we believed having a sibling would be an important and wonderful experience for him (eventually!). He’s learning to share, learning to have patience, learning how to play on someone else’s terms, and learning how to quickly snap a doubler into a diaper because we’re having an emergency!
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