Pathetic

Chris was talking about parenting on his blog. On Monday night, I had a parent that sunk to a whole new low.

I walked into the room and there she was, a perfectly-formed child with golden locks in her stroller, all alone. Eventually, after scouring the hallways, I found her mother. It turned out the child was there for some episodes of vomiting. On exam, she looked pretty good, so we decided to see if she was tolerating oral intakes before sending her home. So, like with many of my pediatric patients, I asked the nurse to give the patient a popsicle. 20 minutes later the nurse flags me down, and says that she thinks the child is finished and ready to go. Funny thing is that although the little girl is only 12 months old, there's not a trace of popsicle on her face or clothes.

The nurse tells me that the popsicle was orange, and well... I guess I was a little pissed off to go in there to find that it was mom who was sitting there with the orange mouth and tongue. What kind of parent steals a popsicle from a sick child? Finally, we put some apple juice in the child's sippy cup and the nurse watched her gulp it down. Most of the parents I encounter are at the opposite end of the spectrum with being over-protective. I worry about the ignored kids though.

----------
On Wednesday, after conference and a nap, I tried to meet up with some of the other interns for a game of ultimate frisbee. We didn't have enough players, so instead we ended up going to see "Talladega Nights: the Ballad of Ricky Bobby" which was not Will Ferrell's best work. Afterwards, four of us sat around nursing beers while they tried to teach me Texas Hold'em. I lost $1.50, but it took them about 2 hours to clean me out. Somehow it was suggested that I host a poker night next weekend, but I don't know if I can get my house ready for that many people.

---------
On Thursday, I played softball for our residency team. We only lost 13-5, but it was the playoffs. Afterwards, I helped one of the other interns with moving some of his girlfriend's stuff into his apartment.

Late last night I tried to give BDG (blind date guy) his walking papers. I tried to explain that I didn't think I wanted to develop anything long-distance (we had talked about him coming out for a visit next weekend) and told him that I was overwhelmed. It was 4 am though when he called, so I'm not sure how coherent I was, and the last thing I remember him saying was "well, sleep on it." I don't know, I guess I just figure that right now it's better for me to be all alone and lonely rather than feeling committed to someone hundreds of miles away and still lonely. And, although we've been talking off and on for about six months now, it's not like either one of us have schedules that are regular enough to even be emotionally supportive of each other.

----------
So, I wasn't in the most fabulous mood today when I went into work. Added on top of that was the stupid assortment of men parking loud trucks and trailers randomly outside my bedroom window at 8 am. I am normally a good driver, but this morning as I pulled out of my driveway, I kind of knocked over one of their safety cones and felt my tire brush against their trailer. As I sped off, I saw at least six male sets of eyes staring at me. Yes, I am now that crazy woman driver in the neighborhood.

My crappy 'tude eventually righted itself again this afternoon. I saw a 6 year old who had fallen off of her horse and hurt her back. I was nice to her, but not extraordinarily so. Y'all, she drew a picture of me! It says "Doctor Smiley" and even has a stethoscope, and there are kids and a dog lined up to see me. It's hanging on my fridge right now. This morning I woke up drained and defeated, and tonight I feel much more content. It's funny how a little thing like that can make your day.