Let me set the scene.
Characters: Sarabeth (cleaning up the plates from dinner), Inwe (running in circles), Finwe (alternating between crying and screaming as he runs after Inwe), Larien (finishing her dinner at the bar next to the kitchen), Phill (Oh, wait, that's right. He wasn't here! Interpret that with emphasis.)
Inwe: Ah, he's gonna get me. He's gonna get me.
Finwe: AAARRRRGGGHHHHH! AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!
Sarabeth: Inwe, quit that. He's not going to hurt you. Finwe! Quit screaming.
Larien: Oh, oh, oh. [Pinky finger shoved in nose.]
Sarabeth: Larien, don't pick your nose. Eat your food.
Inwe: Ah, ah ah, he's getting closer. [Runs breathlessly to hide behind chair.]
Finwe: AAARRRRGGGHHHHH! [Looks frantically for Inwe. When he doesn't see her, we hear . . ]Waaaaaaaaahhhhhh!
Sarabeth [moves toward Finwe]: Inwe come out. Larien, stop it. It's okay, Finwe. She's right there. Go get her.
Inwe: AAARRRGGGHHHH! [Runs to the hallway to do another circle.]
Larien: Mommy! I have a pea in my nose.
Sarabeth: Oh, crap! [Reaches for phone to page the absent father.]
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To make a long story short. Suction didn't work. Pepper in her nose didn't work. Blowing into her mouth didn't work.
Phill returned my page with advice from a PICU doc--put Afrin in the nose to reduce swelling.
I called the neighbors for some tweezers. Somehow the ones in my first aid kit went missing. Such a time to discover this. After getting Finwe to bed I got Larien on the kitchen counter to attempt an extraction.
In the middle of the extraction procedure, I got another call from Phill. Our pediatrician was at the same meeting and counseled that as long as it was a soft object to leave it.
"Well," I said, "I've already gotten some bits out, and it really hurts her." Phill passed on more advice: Keep trying, but don't stress over it.
I decided that one last try was all I would need. Out it came. Can I have a beer?
Oh, that's right, I don't really like beer any longer. Such a shame. I could use one right now, if only just to celebrate the succesful extraction of the pea.
3 comments:
since your off beer, in addition to tweezers we have wine, bourbon, tequila, vodka :) ... You amaze me how you're able to keep your cool with all the commotion.
Did I say I stayed calm? I don't know if calm is the right word. I'll have to fall back on the ol' duck analogy--calm on the surface while paddling like crazy.
Pop a cork on a bottle of wine!!!!
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