Archive: The Fine and Right Education of the Young Doctor Benny

I had gotten Benny into bed and I was lying there next to him patting his head and listening to him breathe and in the darkness I could see the rocking chair that was my mother's mother's chair and I started thinking about my mother, and being the emotional sleep-deprived wreck that I am right now I started crying a little bit.

Benny: Mommy?
Me: Yes?
Benny: Are you sad?
Me: Yes. I miss Grandma.
Benny: Well don't be sad, because Grandma's going to be here!
Me: No, Grandma's in heaven.
Benny: WHAT?!?!?
Me: Grandma's in heaven Benny.
Benny: OH RIGHT, yes, you right.

Benny: Are you crying?
Me: Yes.
Benny: Well, because I'm not crying.
Me: I miss Grandma.
Benny: Honey, sweetie, don't cry. It's going to be okay.

Then he turned over and put his arm around my head and fell asleep. HOW PRECIOUS IS THIS CHILD?

# posted by Lostcheerio @ 4:51 PM

Okay, so down below I said you can email me for his "password" duh obviously I meant screen name and email address, and now I'm just putting his screen name out there. If anyone reads this and sends him porn or something inappropriate just know that I am always watching him when he's online. I know I said he was using MSN Messenger (and he is) but he also likes AOL for the fact that the letters are bigger? I guess? We have switched screen names -- Benny would rather be lostcheerio so I have to be thebennyeel for purposes of our AIM conversations with each other. Anyway the point of all this rather confused explanation is here is one of our conversations. They all start out strictly scripted -- if I deviate from the initial script in any way there are harsh consequences:

lostcheerio: hi mommy
thebennyeel: Hi Benny!
lostcheerio: how are you doing
thebennyeel: I am doing good.
thebennyeel: How are you doing?
lostcheerio: i am doing great
thebennyeel: Are you eating your ice cream?
lostcheerio: yes
thebennyeel: Is it yummy?
lostcheerio: yes
thebennyeel: What is your name?
lostcheerio: my name is benny
lostcheerio: wuts your name
thebennyeel: My name is Mommy.
lostcheerio: do you havae your cofee
thebennyeel: Yes, I really like my coffee.
lostcheerio: do you wunt a popsicle
thebennyeel: Yes, I do want a popsicle.
lostcheerio: wut culr do you like
thebennyeel: I like an orange popsicle.
lostcheerio: you are thebennyeel
thebennyeel: Thank you for the popsicle, Benny.
lostcheerio: i am lostcheerio
thebennyeel: That is true!
lostcheerio: your welcum
thebennyeel: I love you Benny.
lostcheerio is idle at 7:56:34 AM.
lostcheerio is no longer idle at 7:56:51 AM.
lostcheerio is idle at 8:06:51 AM.
lostcheerio is no longer idle at 8:49:22 AM.
lostcheerio: i luv you o momo
thebennyeel: You are my little rabbit.
lostcheerio: no
thebennyeel: You are my little boy.
lostcheerio: yes
thebennyeel: You have a green shirt.
lostcheerio: no
thebennyeel: You have green pants?
lostcheerio: yes
thebennyeel: Where are your socks?
lostcheerio: i dont no
thebennyeel: Where are your feet?
lostcheerio: heer thea are
thebennyeel: Hi Feet!
lostcheerio: where are your feet
thebennyeel: At the end of my legs!

Benny is signed up for a hotmail address and with it he's using MSN Messenger. We've been working on this as a school thing, you know, typing and spelling and whatnot, and I think he's capable enough to spring him on the world. If there are those out there who know us or are related to us and would like to communicate with Benny this way, email me for his password so you can add him to your contact list. He particularly likes the shared whiteboard feature and of course the emoticons.

Oh, I forgot to add. One chocolate ice cream cone, cone and all. So, everything I got to tempt him back into eating is working except the fudgesicles. Those I think he just doesn't trust. Whoever heard of a chocolate popsicle???

Things Benny ate today: 1 mini-bagel. 1 plate of fresh strawberries with sugar. 1 pop tart. Celebrate good times in recovery-land.

Benny has been sick. Click HERE to see pictures.

Before he came down with the plague, Benny did a little photo journal. It's here.

The doctor said Benny has two ear infections and a throat infection so he's on Zithromax now. He almost today seems like he's already better after the megadose yesterday. We had no idea his ears were bad -- he never said one thing about them, was not pulling on them, gave no indication. The doctor said the infection is pretty bad and seemed completely incredulous that Benny hadn't told us they hurt. So I said, stupidly, "Yeah, he has an insanely high pain tolerance." Which is not the BEST thing to say when someone's already glaring at you as if you're a neglectful mother. Heh. "Yeah, he's got a real high pain tolerance, when we're pounding the snot out of him we have to really give it the gusto or he won't even cry." Etc. ANYWAY, here's hoping the baby doesn't get it and that Benny gets better quickly. Yesterday he ate most of an ice cream cone from McDonald's on the way home from the doctor. Then last night he ate a very small amount of chocolate ice cream. That's all he's had to eat since LAST FRIDAY. You can see the ribs in his back. Very hard to deal with, but he won't eat. He's missing all his little activities, and I'm getting cabin fever. Today Dan is feeling better, so maybe he won't go down as hard as Benny did.

HEY in old news, the circus was great. Sorry I haven't posted pictures until now but we've had the plague and whatnot and it's been a bit shaky here. Sadie slept through the whole performance, even the part where we got to go out on the floor and ride the circus train around the different rings and see the barnyard act up close. Benny had the best time ever -- he was so excited all during the first act that he almost fell asleep in intermission -- and did fall asleep the minute his rear hit the car seat -- unheard of! :) Now every time we drive past the Scope (where the circus performed) he tells me "OH LOOK MOMMY! I CAN SEE THE CIRCUS!" and then he sorrowfully explains why we can't go to the circus (my explanation the first few times was "the circus has moved on to another town" but he didn't accept that). He says, "Oh, I guess I'm too sick to go to the circus." Or, "We can't go to the circus today because it's not Friday yet." Or he'll downright say, "TODAY WE CAN GO TO THE CIRCUS!!!" On circus day we were in a borrowed car from the Honda dealer because the new van had gone in to be teflon-coated or something. So he was calling it the circus car, it was a little Toyota or something. The next day he said, so pitifully, so sadly, "Oh, Mommy. The circus car was all tooked away. So we can't go to the circus anymore?" POOR LITTLE POPPET. He thinks the circus is right there in the same building, raging away, and I'm just making up these bogus excuses why we're not there. Sometimes this child breaks my everloving blue-eyed heart.

Go HERE for a full set of pictures.

Benny's sick. My patience with the "let the virus take its course" theory has run out. He's had a fever up and down since Friday night. We're going to the doctor at 1:30. Of course now Dan is sick and I can't leave the baby with him so I have to take them both. And there's no way Benny will walk from the car -- he has to be carried everywhere, he is so weak and awful from not eating since Friday. We'll see how it all goes.