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| Another one gone? |
Day 1 (10 hour car trip to Knoxville, TN): Lose contact in car. Spend 2 hours alternately searching Tommy's eye and what I can reach of him for contact. Find lost contact at the bottom of his car seat caked with cracker crumbs. Time patched: MAYBE 3 hours.
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| I rock this patch! |
Day 2: Knoxville, TN: Replace clean and disinfected contact. Tour around Knoxville (love that town!). No patch or contact drama. Meet a lady who tells me that she is completely blind in one eye because her parents gave up on patching (not sure she was blaming them, just stating facts) due to lazy eye. Weird encounter. Total Patch time: 5 hours! Success!!
Or was it?
Day 4: 12 hours in the car to Florida. I admit, I didn't even try, I was determined to hang on to that last contact until we got to the final destination. Patch time? 0 hours. :(
Day 5: Seaworld! Contact in, patch on. Terrible awful foreign man points, gestures, and brings his friend to gawk at the beautiful baby with a patch. Ugh. Patch time: 5 hours! Success! Take that awful man!
Day 6: Magic Kingdom! Contact is in. Hot sick baby dragged around an amusement park. Terrible mom day. Patch time? Maybe an hour.
Day 7: Animal Kingdom! Tommy gets sick- now carried around an amusement park (in 90 degree heat) and sleeps for most of it (my back is STILL killing me!). I know, I know, but it was just a cold. Patch time. Ugh, none. BUT we did see that girl patched in this park! (heap on the mom guilt!)
Day 8: Going home. 10 hour car trip. Patch time. 1 hour.
Day 9: Still traveling. Patch time? Ugh.
I alternated between extreme guilt for not patching optimally and relief at not thinking about it. The days that we didn't patch were half about self-preservation and half to make sure Tommy's unhappiness didn't impact everyone else's vacation. (He's taken to loud shrieking when he is unhappy- patching makes him unhappy, the parks were crowded, they might have kicked us out!). I think I made the right decision given the circumstances... but I still obsess.
Thanks for reading my confessional!
First, I LIVE IN KNOXVILLE! I was at the marathon with Anderson watching a friend run!!!! What on earth. We are going to have to start stating our itineraries before we leave so that if any of the Eye Moms are even close to each other, we can meet up!
ReplyDeleteSecond, boo on foreign man for his gesturing and on the woman who told you she is blind. Facts or not, I don't like it.
Third, You are awesome. Car=no patching for us. It is so, so difficult to keep it on in the car. He rips it off every time. Don't beat yourself up about it. You get to have a break when there is a very real reason like the CAR!
Fourth, you're awesome. Same as 3, but sometimes you need to hear it more than once.
NO WAY!!! I loved it there- even looked to see if there were openings at the pharmacy school there for me to apply to (there aren't) to MOVE there! I can't believe we missed each other... so crazy close. And BTW, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Calhoun's Barbeque and am craving it right now.
DeleteOk slow down, I don't even know where to begin... I love this post. You are awesome, you are honest, you are real AND you did your best! Period, end of story, let go of the guilt.
ReplyDeleteYour daughter is precious and looks like a china doll, love her. Tommy totally rocks the zebra patch hands down!!!
Amazing amazing amazing that your and Melissa's paths crossed, literally!!! Boo on completely missing each other... I officially am inviting any Eye Mom who is ever near the Buffalo, Western New York area to let me know and I will run in your direction!
I think that is it for now... but I am not afraid to comment again if I think if anything else! ;)
Ugh, I can't believe our paths were so close, either! I live in the Ann Arbor, MI area... ditto on the open invitation to visit or meet up or whatever! We travel through the Buffalo area fairly regularly to visit my parents in VT... someday we will meet up!! Although, I think we should all meet in Knoxville for and Eye Mom Conference and stuff ourselves with the yummy barbeque food.... I totally think people would come. Even better- we can set up a fundraising run for Congenital Cataract research... oh so many possibilities.
DeleteFirst, I would like to agree with Melissa on point three in every way. You are awesome. Skipping a day or even 10 is not the same as giving up and making your child blind in one eye. Austin's patch comes off as soon as I put on my seat belt and put the car in drive. He knows, he somehow knows, I can't get him. Retreating in battle is not the same as losing the war. Quite contrary, it sometimes the best tactic.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I would like to agree with Amanda and say if any one of you is near Indianapolis, IN, email me, comment, whatever. We will meet. Period.
Keep up the great job!
YOU LIVE IN INDY???? We have family close by and go there regularly, too!
DeleteThat would be awesome!
DeleteI agree that you are awesome! Beyond awesome. What a horrible man to point and gesture. I would have had a nice gesture in return!
ReplyDeleteI don't know what I will do when it comes to patching in the car - but I think you are amazing to even attempt it. I can't get Julia a binky in the car, I can't imagine trying to keep a patch on.
Sounds like vacation had its highs and lows - but you survived and the kids had fun.
And I am so close to Indy - I am near St. Louis! Lets all meet here since I am right in the middle of the country! We definitely need an eye mom conference that involves lots of food and adult beverages! :)