Parenting with Cancer, Lesson:
Cry in the Shower, and then Get Your Kid in There With You
When she came home this evening, I was post-chemo & sleeping in the living room on the giant bean bag.
She was upset to see me sick.
Then she was upset that she was upset.
She closed herself into the office and wailed. I tried to go in and talk to her but that only made it worse. I sat outside the window, but again, it only made it worse.
I decided to take a shower. "Tell Nia she can join me if she likes," I said to Joe.
In the shower, I cried, and cried. My midwife, Roxanne, once said, "The shower cleans away a lot more than dirt." Since then, I've found the shower to be a great place to not only cry, but to relax and get over whatever it was and reemerge in a different frame of mind. Hot water on my head, face, and shoulders is sort of magical in its rejuvenating properties.
While I was in the shower, I thought, "She'll come in any minute..."
I waited and waited.
Finally I thought, "Ok. She's not coming." And I was sad about that.
But then the door opened and in she came to hop in with me! And it was perfect. By the time we were done she was all smiles and relaxed.
I was, too.
(And she had clean, combed hair to boot!)
Photo credit: http://www.motifake.com/152724
