When I was pregnant, a lot of people told me what it would be like to have a baby. They said it would be hard; they said it would be fun. They'd said I'd be sleep deprived, that I'd change more diapers than I could imagine, and that it would all be so worth it. One thing nobody told me was how absolutely terrifying it is to be a parent. You have this tiny, helpless person who is so dependent on you that you worry constantly for his safety. Then when something bad actually does happen, even if it's minor, it's really scary!
Example: Last night, Perrin got stung by a wasp. Trey and I absolutely freaked out. We felt like the worst parents ever that we would allow our little 5-week-old baby to get stung by a wasp. And we were truly worried for him. He screamed like a banshee while Trey dialed the after-hours number to get in touch with the nurse on call. I guess that number is technically supposed to be for emergencies, and while a wasp sting is not really a big deal in the grand scheme of things, we really just felt like we needed some assurance that it didn't mean instant death.
The nurse assured us that from our description, it didn't sound as if he was having an allergic reaction. And we managed to get him calmed down within about 20 minutes. Wonder of wonders, he even fell asleep soon afterwards.
When I think about the next 18 years and how many times I'm going to freak out about Perrin's well-being, I get really tired. I was totally flipping out, even though a wasp sting isn't really a big deal. Even so, if you see a wasp today, smash him for me. Smash him hard.
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