The morning was unfolding a lot differently than I'd imagined. Simple coloring turned tragic has lead to this:
I hung up the phone and barked at the girl in my most I-mean-business voice, "GIRLS. Go get real clothes on. NOW. Shirt. Pants. Now."
The bleeding had stopped squirting but all his white blonde hair on the rear of Jamin's head was now red. Forcing myself to move calmly to insure no more injuries were caused in my panic, I grabbed the washcloth and wiped us down again. I paused. Okay, check, I thought to myself. "Don't MOVE" I told Jamin who was sitting on the counter, feet propped in the towel drawer, as he pushed away the tears that were covering his adorable, tiny, sad, cheeks.
I burned holes through him as I stared him down while I moved a few feet away to grab some gauze and tape. We Had no gauze. I quickly reevaluated and snagged a bundle of tissue right there and the small 1st aid tape in the drawer. I ripped off a long piece of white tape and folded the tissue into a pallet as I quick-stepped back toward Jamin. I located the gash and pressed the large square on top only to strap the tape around it and the entire circumstance of his head. Yep, ghetto engineering at it's finest. I stepped back to admire my handy work and snickered when Jamin gave me a smile as if to say, "How's it look Mamma?!?" {sigh of relief} His wailing had stopped.
By this time, the girls rounded the corner from their room, naked. Both holding arm-fulls of clothing. "GREAT! Put them on" I said. I was so proud of how quickly they responded under such pressure. Any other time we were trying to head out the door there would be meltdowns over who got to wear what panties or at least major lolly-gagging in the I-don't-know-how-to-put-on-a-shirt-anymore department. Mags threw on her clothes so I added to her directions, "Grab socks and shoes. Now. Put them on." but to Izzie I redirected, "Sorry, you can't wear leggings. Its too cold. Go get real pants and put it all on." Holding Jamin and his new head gear I paused; "crap, what now." I thought. "Oh yeah, some pants, rather than PJ shorts, for the injured one and a bra and shoes would be nice for the mamma/EMT!"
We all collided in my bedroom, grabbing shoes, jackets and a hat to cover my sweet boy's red hair...so we didn't freakout the others in the waiting room. In the distance I hear my phone going off. Sternly giving more orders, we rushed to the front door; dressed and ready in less than 10 minutes- family record! They grabbed morning cups, I grabbed the keys and diapers and we rushed to the van. Another new record was made as each child hollered bye to the dog rather than stopping for stinky hugs and hopped into the van. Those who could buckled...at least the parts they could, did so speedily!
Whipping down the driveway I called Matt back to let him know where we were headed. He had turned around and was now only minutes away from our exit. I explained there was still blood dripped across the kitchen but I think I had the bleeding stopped or at minimum slowed. We raced over tickle hill with no warning and over to the main road. Finally off the phone, I realized I wasn't sure if I remembered where exactly the clinic was located in reference to the street we been dumped out. Pulling a giant U-ie, we made it to the parking lot. Unloading like circus clowns, the kids filed onto the sidewalk and we all rushed inside as I quickly reminded them of "manors in public".
When we approached the front desk, the clerk seemed dazed. Again, I regained composure, "Yes, this little guy has busted his head open and may need stitches."
{blank Stare} "Well, ummm. We are gonna have to send you to the emergency room. We only have two providers here today and they're both booked."
{Hhhuuuuh???} "Um, Lacey sent me here and said they could do it?"
"Sorry, we can't."
We finished up a seemly long small talk after the awkward "no" and we all filed back into the van and I text my friend to let her know we'd been sent away. She responded quickly with, "What? Are you still here?" When I told her yes she responded, "Where"... She checked her parking lot and called immediately me only for us to both realize...I'd gone to the wrong clinic. She works two different places. Well snap! We rushed down the same street in search of the proper "Urgent Care" center and called Matt to reroute him.
to be continued...
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