Helping Daddy
pamelamyers | September 21, 2017
As I mentioned in my birthday post, Mark somehow hurt his back really badly. It was so bad, that we actually called an ambulance to take him to the ER. My mom stayed with her at home so that I didn’t have to drag her to the hospital. Thankfully, it turned out to be muscular, and not something with his discs or his spine. I took him to his primary care and he started physical therapy right away. He goes twice a week and has exercises he is supposed to do at home. Sam saw him and decided to help him by doing the exercises with him. She is so sweet.
The whole experience was very scary for Sam, even though she didn’t show it at the time. Boy, the next day, she really let her emotions go. She acted out so badly at bedtime (screaming, crying, hitting) that she wound up getting punished – two weeks with no screens of any kind. We do know that it was likely her fear making her act out, but still, you can’t let behavior like that go. It is understandable. Even though she knows Mark is fine, the last person who she saw leave in an ambulance was her Poppy, and he didn’t come home. And Mark was walking around with a cane when he got home in a way that was remarkably similar to how her Poppy walked around for the last year or so of his life. We did assure her that her Daddy is fine, and she knows that, but I think she had to let all that pent up fear out. She is definitely not like me in that way. Man, everyone knows how I feel, I don’t let anything stay in. Sam is not a screamer or a crier for the most part. She keeps everything inside until it explodes. I am trying to help her understand that when she has feelings she doesn’t know how to deal with, she has to tell someone. Hopefully, I got through to her. I want her to know she can come to us, that she doesn’t have to handle everything herself. It’s a hard age. She is trying to be grown up, yet she likes being my baby. I think she’s having trouble navigating those waters. All I can do is be here, and try to help. Hopefully, it’s enough.