It was just ten days ago that I wrote the post, " We are Becoming Downright Boring and I am so Grateful!" That certainly didn't last, did it?
Today was supposed to be Miles's preschool graduation family party, but as often happens when you have kids, things went sideways. Very sideways.
I returned home from picking up his cake around 10:45 this morning. Catherine and I had made a plan to try to get her (fairly new) pierced earrings back in ourselves, upon my return. If we failed, we were going to have to make an emergency trip to the pediatrician before noon, when they close.
I'd like to say this predicament started a week ago, but actually, it started about 9 months ago when Catherine got her ears pierced for the FIRST time. For years, she and I have been doing battle over this subject. She would badger me weekly, at least, and I would do my best to put her off. I knew, instinctively, as mother's do, that we were inviting trouble by getting her ears pierced at a young age. However, even I could not have imagined how much trouble that would be.
Not long after she got them pieced in the fall, she went to the school nurse complaining of discomfort. Instead of calling to check with me, the school nurse removed the earrings, put them in two separate bags, and gave them back to Catherine to bring home. Only one bag made it home and by the time we got the doctor to deal with it, about 36 hours later, her holes had closed. We were told we would have to wait six weeks to let them heal, before getting them pierced again.
Take two. The second attempt was in late December over Christmas break. It was successful and we made sure to take fastidious care of them, well- beyond the 6-8 weeks the doctor instructed us. The second attempt was seemingly a success.
We went along this way for many months, until she started pestering me for new earrings. Again, my mother's instinct told me that we should let sleeping dogs lie. The earrings she had were adorable and not causing any problems so why would we tempt fate by changing them out for new ones? Catherine likes to tempt fate. She always has, with her stilts and scooters and all the other daredevil stunts she likes to engage in. She is the only girl, among three boys, which might explain it. Who knows?
She was relentless on this matter. Every day she would go on the internet and search for new earrings. She would show me what she found and I would half-heartedly look at them. I put her off as long as I could and then just felt I couldn't take the pressure anymore. It's tough when you're dealing with a seasoned used car saleswoman!
We ordered the new earrings and.....they never arrived. The other items I ordered that same day arrived, but oddly enough, the earrings never did. That should have been a sign and was for me, but not for my officious daughter. She reminded me daily to call customer service to see what happened to them. Eventually, I did and they graciously offered to send another pair. Just great!
No less than a few days after putting them in she started to complain of pain and discomfort. Although we ordered 14k gold earrings had the doctor had instructed, her ears were starting to look red, swollen, and possibly even infected. By last night she was in tears, so we removed them. Oddly, however, the backs to the earrings were missing? I treated her inflamed ears and told her to leave any earrings out until this morning, at which time we would reconvene. That brings us to the beginning of this story.
After several attempts and a lot of tears, we could only get one earring back in this morning. We phoned the doctor and they kindly offered to see us, if we could "race over" and get there before noon. I left the poor boys at home by themselves and off Catherine and I went in our masks to try to solve this.
After the doctor took a closer look, he discovered that the back of the earring was embedded inside the hole of her pierced ear. I felt nauseated at the thought of it. She was so brave, but he had to dig in with tweezers and extract it, along with a lot of blood. He thought the other ear was probably okay since I had managed to get the earring in, but I insisted, at least three times, that he remove the earring and check. Sure enough, there was the other mysteriously missing back, embedding in her other ear. The thought of it sickened me.
On our way to the pharmacy to pick up both oral and topical antibiotics to treat the double infections, I didn't miss the opportunity to have one of those "I told you so" conversations. These pierced ears were not only an unpleasant story but turning into an entire miserable saga.
She currently has no earrings in. She will be on oral antibiotics for a week to ten days, with multiple treatments of hydrogen peroxide and topical antibiotics to both ears for the same length of time.
We had to postpone Miles's party because by the time we finally got home and I fed the hungry and (understandably) irritable boys, and finished cleaning the house, it was 4 in the afternoon. The party spirit had left my body as mysteriously as the backs to Catherine's earrings had vanished into thin air.
Waiting for the doctor to come in to look at her ears. Just the place you want to be in the midst of a pandemic.
One of her infected ears.
At 4, I relinquished, letting everyone flop on to the couch and watch TV.
Harry Potter was the movie of choice.
A screenshot of my calling down to Garin on the Nest camera, asking him to retrieve the bread for dinner, out of the refrigerator. It beats screaming from upstairs over the Harry Potter Movie.
Past two ways. Friday night: Spaghetti with Chicken; Corn; Red and Green Onions with a Garlic Basil Sauce.
Saturday Night: Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp, Scallops, Calamari and Shallots with a Lemon, White Wine and Parsley Sauce.