Monday is NOT Pretty in Pink

“Mom, I need your help.” Sam leaned halfway out of the car, his belt still fastened, his body in almost no way restrained by it.

“What honey? Can’t you see Mommy is putting on her shoes?”  I hated the accidental third person. I wouldn’t have said, “Can’t you see Jessie is putting on her shoes”. And my kids haven’t referred to themselves in the third person in years, so I can’t claim I’m echoing them when I morph into the person I call “Mommy is”. She usually comes with a slice of “Can’t you see she’s” followed by any number of activities.

“I need you to move my book out of the way.” He pointed to where it had fallen on the garage floor.

“Don’t you want me to hand it to you?” It was his favorite, something from the Star Wars universe that made Wookies sound like they belonged in encyclopedias. He answered with his mad face. The one that usually preceded phrases like, “You already know!” and “I just said.”  But instead of lambasting me for my failure to listen to his orders, he turned violent red. Exactly what Mommy doesn’t need. A meltdown to start the day. I pulled on my left shoe and went for the book.

The instant it left the ground, Sam vomited. Craisin colored, oatmeal textured puke splattered onto the side of the car.

“Scott! I need you!” What? You can’t cope with this one ‘Mommy’?

“What’s up?”

Sam threw up again, another lily pink stream. “Oh.”

“We need a bucket out here.”

“Right.”

I scooped Sam out of the car and into the kitchen, where he deposited a final breakfast delivery just before Scott arrived with an empty trash can. “I guess take your pants off and go curl up on the couch. Looks like you won’t be going anywhere today.”

I went for old cloth diapers to clean up the car, and Scott started in on the kitchen floor. One pail of lemon cleanser later, I could finally take Caroline to school. “You want to know the most disgusting thing for me?” I told Scott as I walked out the door.

He shrugged. The answer probably was no.

“It smelled like strawberries. The thing that brought me closest to spewing myself was that I couldn’t escape that odor, and I kept thinking, “this is the most pleasant barf I’ve ever scrubbed.”

“Ugh.”

He did not kiss me on the way out.

Sam seemed fine for the rest of the day. In fact, at one point, he bounded around on the trampoline with no consequences. I had just about convinced myself that he had swallowed his strawberry toothpaste this morning by the time I went to rescue Caroline for the day.

I picked him up for a cuddle when we got home. He pushed away from me and grunted. “What honey?”

He twisted away and another pink volcano erupted onto the floor, this one smelling rankly of the barbecue sauce he had demanded for lunch. The attack continued so long that I got him to the toilet before the last chunks arrived. After Scott and I had cleaned him up, I stripped out of my own clothes, which had not been spared, and disinfected the toilet in my underwear. Scott went for the mop and some more lemon cleanser.

“You got things under control out here?” I asked him.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Good. That’s one too many encounters with my children’s bodily fluids today. Mommy’s taking a shower.”

“Not a bad idea. When you get done, I think Daddy may need a turn as well.”

 


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About jesterqueen:
Jessie Powell is the Jester Queen. She likes to tell you about her dog, her kids, her fiction, and her blog, but not necessarily in that order.

Comments

Monday is NOT Pretty in Pink — 14 Comments

  1. Ha! I laugh because I’ve been there, laughing at myself. all 3 of mine casually like Star Wars. Lyla likes the action figures and light sabers. Glad he’s feeling okay.
    Hop over and visit Lance’s recent post Nine Minutes Of MeMy Profile

  2. Actually going through it with you yesterday.. I feel like I lived it again. I am so sorry Sam.. That picture of you is sooooo cute and I’m sorry you feel so yucky. Big hugs to your mommy too. 🙂

  3. ‘Accidental third person’, I like that term. Why do we speak to children like that?! It sounds like you had a great day, hope you got that shower and that it isn’t spreading. 🙂
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  4. Ugh…disgusting but part of the job 🙂

    I love that Sam didn’t say “I’m feeling sick” Instead he asks you to move his book so he won’t puke on it. Awesome!
    Hop over and visit Carrie’s recent post Occupational HazardsMy Profile

  5. Shudder.

    Vomit is my retching and heaving downfall. I’m not saying I can’t do clean up, or even that my spouse swoops in and saves me from it, but in this parenting gig, vomit is my kryptonite.

    Hats off to you, sister, and hope Sam is feeling better today.
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  6. Ew, yuck! Like Cameron, I have an aversion to cleaning up barf, too. Makes me join in the party. I always felt like a bad Mom when their Dad did clean up. Hope everyone is healthy today. Thanks for sharing, I think.

  7. My son has an extremely heightened gag reflex, and even at 19yo can puke almost on cue. I still have to clean it up, since both he and his dad would puke again if they tried. I really hoped that was one childhood drama we both would outgrow.

    I feel your pain, and raise you a roll of paper towels and a bottle of Lemon Fresh Lysol.
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  8. Awww, I hope he is feeling better. I actually just went through this with my 7 year old daughter over the weekend and then Monday my 10 year old daughter. Though no pink or strawberry smell. Glad you had help! Their stepfather has a weak stomach and I definitely would not want to clean up after an adult. lol

  9. I think sometimes life calls for the third person for distancing purposes. Particularly when you’re cleaning up the second or third hurl of the day. Mommy might be happier about doing that than you are.
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  10. It’s hard to be so close to throw-up that you know what it smells like. Better strawberries than something else, I guess. I hope everyone is feeling better!