I had no idea how much of motherhood would involve just totally making stuff up. This morning my youngest came downstairs still warm and fuzzy with sleep and said, "I have a pain in my temple." Hmmm. I leaned down and kissed his forehead to see if he had a fever. Nope. So I say, "Have some orange juice. You're probably just thirsty." What? If my husband said, "My temple hurts," I doubt I'd respond with a direction to drink some OJ.
I find I do this all the time. My response to nearly all pain complaints is: "You're fine." These are probably the words I've spoken more than any other (except, I hope, "I love you") since I became a mother. It works for everything.
Boy: "My leg hurts." Mom: "Put your leg up. You'll be fine."
Boy: "I cut my knee." Mom: "Don't drip blood on the couch. Go wash the cut. You're fine."
Boy:: "My throat hurts. " Mom: "Have a drink. You're fine."
"Boy: "I got a bug in my eye." Mom: "Close your eyes for a minute. It will come out. You'll be fine."
Boy: "I have a pain in my side." Mom: "Use the heating pad. You'll be fine."
Boy: "My stomach hurts." Mom: "You're just tired. Go back to bed. You're fine."
Sometimes I worry that I say it too much. I fear one of the boys will come to me with blood shooting out of his eye and I'll say, "Go lay down with your eyes closed. You're fine."
The flipside of this would be to take every complaint seriously, which sounds like a recipe for making some whiner babies to me. Seriously. Buck up little buddy, you'll be fine. Hopefully someday they won't each be sitting in therapy telling some stranger that I never took their pain seriously.
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4 comments:
Okay friend. I only got through this latest one so far, and I laughed out loud -- yes, at work -- at the blood shooting out of the eye scenario. A lovely image indeed!
this is funny. i tell my son all the time he's fine - and he's only 8 months old. i think it's good. (:
is this nina? i found your blog through merry's. this is jen
(formerly) kruse. hi.
I can so picture this scenario, your sweet little guys needing mom to tell them they are o.k.. I can't see the harm in repeating it constantly. I wouldn't mind someone reminding me every day that I'm okay!
Also, its way better than the alternative, the big whiny grown up boy/man, which is somehow all too familiar...
Hi Jen, yes, it's me...I started to read your blog the other day and then...well, I may have needed to tell someone they were fine... but I'll be back...it's fun to be able to catch up on people's lives...
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