Day 17

This is the picture I paused long enough to capture.  It would have appeared neglectful had I stopped to snap the one where he laid spread eagle on the concrete, as I walked away. As it was, I had to stoop down and carry him. Josiah was not budging.

We had just pulled into the parking lot at my Doctor’s office when Josiah nodded off. Having him with me for the appointment wasn’t ideal, but he has been so mellow the past couple of days I figured it would work. He climbed out of his seat with no hesitation, but quickly sat down in the middle of the parking lot a second later.  I had an audience watching as I did my best to encourage him to stand.  He wouldn’t. He stretched out his arms and legs and laid down right there on the concrete, oblivious to the danger of it all.

My only option at this point was to carry him.  I was already late for my appointment. I wrapped his legs around my body, hoping he’d hold on tight and staggered into the lobby as best I could. At 13 years of age, even thought he’s on the thin side, clearly Josiah is too big for me.  We made our way down the hall.  I propped his body up against the wall near the elevator to alleviate some of his weight while waiting for the doors to open. The man beside me said, “You are strong.” and nodded in my direction. We stumbled onto the elevator, Josiah clinging to me, as I muttered, “I’m faking it.”

In the waiting room, I literally dropped Josiah into a chair, threw my purse and his backpack next to him and tried to regain my composure, the whole time wondering what the crowd around me must be thinking. I was huffing and sweaty. but very aware I was doing my best to act as if this is what every mother of a teenage son does when she needs to see the Dr.  She calls up, makes an appointment, hoists her too tall son up on her hip and carries him in through the door. We must have been a sight.

Thankfully, once inside, Josiah was content to sit.  He has been poked and prodded at one too many of his own appointments lately and wants nothing to do with any more physicians. I feared seeing another office would send him bolting down the hall.  Fortunately, I had grabbed a pair of Mardi Gras beads on our way out the door and threw them in my purse. They were a great distraction for him and probably the only reason he sat for as long as he did.

We waited a very long time.

At one point, while I was getting an x-ray, Josiah actually sat in a chair in the hallway ALL BY HIMSELF for 10 minutes.  I was in the x-ray room, with the door closed, praying he would still be sitting in that chair when the door opened.  Seriously, what would I have done had he decided to find an exit?  I don’t think the technician grasped how delicate the situation was, with him left alone like that.

For all the transitioning Josiah had to do while we were there, he was a trooper.  We spent time in 3 different rooms and sat in the waiting room twice.  He walked right by my side, and only hesitated a little before entering each room to sit down.  It was really quite impressive.

What a change, from being carried in the door, to acting so mature and appropriate the rest of the time.  On the way home, I started thinking my little guy is growing up.  He never would normally be so content to just sit for 2 hours. I started thinking, I can pretty much take him anywhere I’ll bet. He’s not the hyper bouncy kid he used to be.  I started thinking, Josiah is really pretty easy to deal with. He’s not difficult to take out in public anymore.

Then we got home, Josiah has a 101.7 fever.  That explains everything!  Never mind.