Surprises

Surprises - they come in all shapes and sizes.  Sorry for the rhyme - Liam is on a Teletubby kick.

Today's surprises began with a faint, sour smell wafting from my son as he joined me for his usual morning cuddle.  Musty washcloth last night?  No.  Pee accident?  No.  I nosed into his room and into the bedding.  Cat pee.  Great.

Liam is infatuated with our cat, Jake.  He can't seem to resist petting or scooping Jake up whenever he sees him.  Jake is 13 and very even tempered, but I noticed that Liam had captured him the other day and "tucked" him into the bed.  Liam doesn't get that Jake has feelings and doesn't always enjoy even the "nice pets."  I began to suspect that our non-biting, non-scratching cat had found another way to show his displeasure.

Whatever the source, today wasn't the best day for this surprise.  Liam was scheduled for a doctor visit to be cleared for Special Olympics in track (and to get a flu shot) and it happens to be our first day back from "vacation" and onto our homeschool adventure.  And yesterday's lovely rain had flooded our back porch creating another nasty surprise - a small pond.  I threw down every available towel and shoved the sodden mess into the washer, stripped Liam's bed and scrubbed the mattress, adding peppermint oil (it really kills the smell).

The bedclothes went in after the towels with a vinegar wash.  Liam was fussing and refusing to take off his night shirt.  He also waited too long to get to his morning pee, and so he too had had a pee incident (not in the bed).  Liam is always a little distressed by any bathroom accident and is also uncomfortable seeing his bed "naked." To top it off,  I twas venting about the cat pee on his sheets, trying to impress the "why" of it on him.  "Jake peed in the bed BECAUSE you trapped him.  Don't do that again."

Liam struggled with mounting emotions and finally shot out, "I am dissapointed!"  It wasn't quite the emotion that was showing on his face - angst at being reprimanded, self-recrimination maybe, but is was as close as he could get in his state.  He was bummed about needing new pants and I had picked a bad time to try to explain "why" I was upset about the cat pee and his over cuddling Jake.  I didn't pick my battles well today.

A few sips of my now-cold coffee and Dad, Liam and I were off to the doctor's appointment.  Liam was calmed by the prospect of going to Rite Aid after the visit to take pictures of the digital displays on the lottery machine.  My husband was braced to handle restraining Liam so that he could get his flu shot.

At the appointment, Liam was happy and mostly cooperative.  He hates having anything put into his ears, so temperature and visual exams with a scope were out.  And then it was time for the shot.  Dad held him from behind, around his chest and I had the legs.  Liam was looking at his iPad then glanced over as the shot went in.  Aaaand - SURPRISE!  He just watched calmly as she pushed the plunger.  No yell.  No struggle.  We all high-fived Liam.  "Did that hurt?" he scripted from some cartoon I haven't seen.  "DID it hurt?" I asked.  He didn't answer and happily took the lollipop from the RN.

As I said before - one breakthrough can make up for a whole lot of crap.  So, in all, today is a good day.