A moment of grace

When I read this post (see May 24) a couple of days ago, my heart went out to the Mom. Who wants to spend hours in a hospital waiting for their child to pee? UGH. No fun for anyone. Then, this morning, Maggie cried out in pain when she peed. I was a little surprised, and thought...hmm...coincidence? Is she just mimicking Grace even though they've never met? It continued and soon she was dissolving into tears and refusing to go near a toilet even though I knew she had to go.

Needless to say, I was on the phone with the advice nurse after lunch and was issued an appointment without much discussion. Painful urination...you see the doctor. End of story. We took her 2:30 slot.

The weather was lovely--high 70's a few puffy clouds--the neighbors were hosting a barbeque and I was on the road at 2 pm for a doctor's appointment. This little trip was not in my weekend plans. At least the doctor was right on time. She handed me a cup and said.."Do whatever it takes, but she has to pee in the cup by 4:15. The lab closes at 4:30." Long story and many beverages later, at 4:10 pm, with the threat of a catheter looming large in her future, through a veil of tears, Maggie dutifully filled the cup. The tests were all negative. She doesn't have a urinary tract infection.

But while sitting on the floor of the pediatric bathroom listening to my child howl in discontent, I had one of those rare moments of grace. I don't mean peace. It was a moment of vulnerability and honesty that defines parenthood. Neither of us wanted to be in that room. Neither of us wanted to be doing what we were doing. Yet, Maggie and I were in it together, and by golly, she got the job done. It required a great deal of trust on her part, 'cuz it hurt, poor baby. But she did it after holding out for over 6 hours. And if it was the doctor ordered coca cola that broke the dam, as long as her sister never finds out, we're going to be fine...just fine.