Give Me a Shot of Courage

It's a lazy morning. Noah is in the tub. Jacob is downstairs asleep. He had a very traumatic experience yesterday called 'getting your ingrown toenails removed'. Of all my kids, he has the lowest pain tolerance. Seriously. He's a big baby. Really big. And, if you even mention the word 'shot' his face goes white and he almost passes out. So, we went to the doctor's office and he sat down on the table. The cute nurse pulls out a needle and begins to fill it. I thought he might puke. Once she got all the supplies ready, in walks Brother, I mean, Doctor S. (He lives in our ward.) Jake laid down and Dr. S started with the numbing. This was a very difficult thing for me. Jake was literally writhing on the table. I think I even saw a tear. Thing is, when your kid gets to be 16 and he's taller than you, there isn't much you can do for them when they're in pain. My little kids would welcome my comforting hand holding theirs or even if I hugged them during the agony. With Jacob I had to sit and watch. Then the doctor and I started joking around. Don't think the patient appreciated that very much. Four shots, two in each toe. (Did you know you have 4 nerves in each toe? I didn't.) Doctor S told Jacob, 'Good thing you don't have to experience childbirth.' I laughed, Jake did not. You'd have thought that's what he was going through, with all the moaning and knuckle biting. I considered bringing up the nine hours of labor, shot in my back, episiotomy and stitches I endured to bring him into the world, but thought better of it. He wasn't in the mood. Things went better once the numbing took effect. It only took about 30 minutes and he was able to walk out. I had a d'oh! moment when I realized he couldn't put his shoes back on and I had nothing for him to wear home. He hobbled barefoot to the door, then we found a wheelchair to take him to the car. Jake's a bit of a hypochondriac, but I think yesterday may have cured him of that- a little bit.