• I have utmost respect for parents who arrive at events somewhat on time
Image: PEXELS
They say we plan and God laughs, but the saying should be: Mothers plan and babies throw a curveball.
Everybody knows that parents of young kids, and babies especially, are always late to events and appointments. I found out why on my first appointment after having the baby.
Our one-week appointment day was the first time we had to take our baby out of the house. I remember how we spent time getting ready before calling an Uber to take us to the hospital. When the Uber arrived and my husband picked the baby to go outside, he got as far as the door and came back saying, “He pooped.”
That was the day I really understood what goes on behind the scenes of parenting. Since then, I have had utmost respect for parents who arrive at events somewhat on time, and I give no attention to the naysayers who do not understand what it takes for a parent to simply get out of the house.
Back to my week, my child was closing school this week, and as our days in the motherland are starting to get crossed off, I decided to fill my son’s school holiday with a few activities. I called in a few favours to finally get someone who would coach him. I was so eager to get started that I wanted to start his lessons on his first day of school holidays.
Thursday morning dawned nice and early. My kid woke up fine, he watched cartoons and lazed around in bed before fully waking up to go have breakfast. As I was changing him, I noticed a dramatic shift in his mood. Only then did I realise he was burning up! He was on the mend from a viral infection that had been diagnosed the previous Thursday. Yet here we were, scrambling to go back to hospital just eight days later.
As it turns out, his previous infection did not heal in time and ultimately made him worse. Luckily, we were able to treat it effectively this time around. You see, I like known variables. When my child is sick during the day, I fully expect to have bad nights. However, an unpredictable reaction from him often throws me for a loop.
So here I am, wondering if it was wise for me to make all these plans for his school holiday. Should I continue with my plans? Should I take a step back and continue observing him? What if he gets sick again?
The truth is we can never predict when things will go awry with our babies. We plan, take necessary precautions and they still manage to throw us a curveball that knocks us off our path. The only thing we can do is to pick ourselves up and not get too disappointed in our failed plans. God willing, we have tomorrow to try again.