School starts Wednesday.
That means I go back to work Monday.
That also means that our last day with Miss Nikki is Tuesday. She will be going back to school with another one of her precious kiddos. I am so glad that she was our first nurse! I'm going to miss her terribly. The last couple of weeks have been tough for both of us, knowing that we don't have another nurse in place. More than that, we have known that our "see you later" has been rapidly approaching.
When you first learn that your child needs in-home nursing care, it is a HUGE adjustment. You worry about how this person will care for your baby... and how their presence is going to change the dynamic of your household. Are they going to be clinical or are they going to love on them like you would? Are they going to judge you on the days when you're still wearing the same thing as the day before? Are they going to notice when you spend most of the day in the other room fighting back tears from this "new normal?" Are they going to be able to take over what you think are YOUR responsibilities without making you feel like a slacker that can't care for your own kid?
And then, if you're as lucky as we were, you'll find that you look forward to seeing your nurse each day. She will start to bond with your kiddo and you'll see all the love and caring there. You'll get comfortable leaving the house to run errands. You'll start bouncing ideas off each other to make the best use of your space and organization. You'll share tips and tricks for things like getting the most use out of syringes and alternatives to pill crushing.
Then if you're REALLY lucky, you'll feel friendship start to blossom. And when you're having one of those days when you've been fighting back tears from a "things aren't going according to plan and we are running out of time" moment, she'll hug you and not say anything when a few tears drop on her scrubs top.
This is the end of our summer chapter...
Grandma is coming back to care for Lennon while dad and I work, at least until we can establish nursing or attendant care. We are optimistic about what lies ahead. (It's funny how mornings can be so starkly different than afternoons.)
Tonight I'll leave you with Lennon dancing in the Upsee with Nikki.
