A bumpy day

The day started off as usual - the alarm went off at 5.08am and I woke up (reluctantly). It's only February and I think it's fair to say that our household is still... calibrating (though I'm not sure that one may EVER get accustomed to waking up comfortably at 5am?!)

 

As always, I walked sleep-walked mysteriously ambled to the bathroom, then the kitchen (I always need a cup of warm water) then to the girl's room to wake her up. Our routine is like this, where I rub her back... then massage her legs, rub her feet... then carry her up to sit in my lap until she is able to get up and she then walks sleep-walks finds her way out of the room.

 

The morning routine from 5.15am to 5.37am is 22 minutes of (a) breakfast (b) nagging (c) brushing teeth (d) changing of uniform (e) wearing of socks and shoes. And the reason why I'm being so specific about the time that we leave the house is one out of necessity. Initially, the bus was meant to arrive at 5.45am. It has since been shifted up (I'd say 'slightly' up but in the universe of 5am, every minute feels extremely exaggerated so no such thing as 'slightly'. Allow me to explain - imagine an extra minute of sleep at that (unearthly) hour... see how precious it is?!) by 5 minutes to 5.40am. However, anyone who says that Singaporeans are a tardy bunch should meet the species known as the school-transport-drivers. They are on the dot, scientific-league kind of punctual; mix that with the very low tolerance of waiting time (our strict instructions were "Will only wait for ONE MINUTE") - we don't ever want to be late... and so began our leaving the house by 3.37am (sometimes, we leave at 3.38am but it's always better to train ourselves to be that minute earlier!)

 

Anyhow, I digress. The point is, this morning, we make it to the bus on time and off the girl goes. Today is a regularly good day where we have some random conversation about nothing-at-all, and I wave her off happily as she dishes that signature grin as she tries not to appear like a baby as there are already fellow peers on the school bus. Once the bus goes, I am left on my own on the very quiet street and I can practically do a sit-up on the road as it is that quiet (but I don't) and I make my way home. Today was HIIT day and I accomplished that. I then had about 10minutes of some time with my son as we watched the sun rise, and it felt like such an awesome start.

 

Then I chanced upon my phone flashing. A vaguely familiar number ... calling me at 7am... ?!

It was the school. My dear girl had 'fallen and hit her eye and her nose bled' - I was told. I began to mildly panic. Thankfully, the husband was still home and we quickly decided to go pick her up together. I can only say, that it is true that this sort of scenario seems terribly familiar in a very nightmare-ish kind of way, where every parent who has received a call from the school can only hope that it is not as bad as they ever imagine (trust me, our imaginations are pretty high-level-out-of-this-world-type-of-standard)... let's just say that it was honestly unpleasant.

 

When I saw her, she was muted and seemed fine. There was no blood anywhere. I was also thankful that the husband was with me. One can always rely on a rock for support. The girl had tripped over her friend's foot, and fallen face-down and hit her head on a bench. I can begin to imagine the trauma of what if it had been another inch down and into her eye... but I shall not. I shall say that I am relieved that the girl has a grand baluku on her eyebrow and she may feel discomfort around her eye area for a while but she is not blind fine.

 

 

Picture that does not show properly the bump and bruise on her brow

 

It is now 2pm, and I am tired. The day has started off early, and it's been quite a roller-coaster ride for me, as a mother of a child who got called up by the school. I'm thankful, so so thankful that she is resting now, and she even managed to feel hungry.

 

Lunch

 

She's under observation today, so no more school for her... and I know she will be fine, this sturdy breed known as children. Besides the scare for her, I think I have also learnt much on a personal level.

 

1. Do not panic.

I don't think I did today, but I have allowed my imagination to do so.

 

2. I always wish the husband to be around when accidents occur

Who wouldn't like a rock to lean on when you feel all fretty and shaky and all that?

In the instance that he's not around, I will practise (1) and call him so that I may speak to him and get assurance through the phone in the form of radiation, I guess

 

3. Say thanks

Yes, an accident happened but it can always be worse so be thankful for what did happen (than what if was worse)

 

4. I am a mother and I want to be there for my children

I know this sounds like such an obvious statement, but I realise that when something's happened, I always, always want to BE THERE. Not over the phone, not see them then park them aside, but to be with them there and then and afterwards too. Is this a bad thing? Maybe, maybe not. I know that it matters to me because I always hope for the children to remember the assurance of a Mother. Do I need to moderate my level of reaction of being there? Maybe. But I guess this is part of the process where I learn and attune myself, too.

 

What. A. Day. 

 

The rest of the day was pretty normal, where everyone caught up on much-needed sleep and rest, then we had a regular evening of some revisions, dinner, bedtime stories and sleep. The end.