Worry is like a rocking chair--it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere.”

On February 18th Lily had tubes put in her ears and her adenoids removed. I lost a lot of sleep over this issue. I consulted websites, friends, strangers at the park, co workers, family and my expert ENT Uncle Steve. I knew it was something we needed to do. I knew I had to put on my happy face for Lily. And so I did. She was so excited to "get her ears fixed!" We got to the clinic early in the morning and she got to wear her jammies. We celebrated this event. We put our pennies in a wishing well. She put on a special gown and slippers. She brought a special doctor teddy bear from Grandpa Greg and Terri. We met with the doctor and nurse. When it was time to go the nurse asked Lily if she wanted to ride in a wagon or walk. I smiled and said "bye Lily! See you in a few minutes!" Lily took the nurses hand and said "I want my mommy."

They left the room and I started to cry. Two minutes later I heard her crying down the hall and I was a wreck. Darin met me and we waited for the longest half hour in history. The doctor came and told us it went well, her adenoids were huge and moments later they were ready for us to go see her. We walked into the room and Lily was in a nurses arms, drugged and in pain. I nearly ripped her out of the nurses hands and sat down and held her. I sang my made up "You are my Lily" lullabye I have been singing to her since the day she was born. She was a mess. I reflected back to the day she born. Darin and I didn't know a thing about taking care of our newborn baby girl. We have video of our first diaper change and it is 15 minutes long, with both Darin's and my full attention. This time was totally different. We were the experts on Lily. We KNEW what to do. We KNEW how to calm her. We KNEW how to make her feel better. And we did. It was a short recovery and we were released. I was so happy to be the one to be her mama on this day, and the one to make her feel better. We brought her home. She took a short nap, and woke up back to her same self. Darin and I laughed that they may have taken her adenoids, but nothing can take her spirited personality. We also laughed that we imagined she would be recovering and we would perhaps have a day of rest from all our (my!) worry. Simply not the case. Lily woke up with her abundance of enthusiasm and as usual ran us ragged the rest of the day. Truth be told she is still recovering some. Her voice has changed. We have had a comedy of errors in administering her medicine and keeping her ears dry during bathtime and such. She had a follow up visit and all is well, so really we are on the right path. The lesson in all this? Worry doesn't get you anywhere. The other lesson? There are childrens' hospitals full of sick kids. There must be something we can do to show our empathy and it is at the top of our list of things to do this year. Thanks to all for your care and concern. Thanks to Nanna for the special visit. Here is Lily working from home on her laptop next to Dad hours after her surgery. So as you can see, she is doing just fine. And me? Well I came home and did what every mother who wants to control things and felt helpless for weeks would do. I cleaned the refridgerator until it shined.