Super bad timing.
I was stuck. Couldn't leave with the A/C guy just getting there. But what kind of a mother tells the office people to just hang tight with her injured son until she gets around to picking him up?
Priorities.
I told them I couldn't get there right away and that I would see what I could arrange. I called my sister Holly and asked if she could go check him out and at least bring him home so I could comfort him until we could get him to the doctor. She was awesome and came to the rescue.
Turns out, we were the one-in-a-million household annually to have their A/C compressor brought to a screeching halt by a hapless earwig taking refuge between connector points on the circuit. Not kidding. The repairman showed me the charred remains of our little earwig friend in the control panel. I was gobsmacked. Could anything more random have caused this? Brought to our knees by an earwig. With odds like that, I figured we should have won a prize or something. As it was, we had to pay him. He was nice and only charged us the $79 service evaluation charge. And I tell you I was thrilled to pay it. Only ten minutes and $79 (plus tax) to once again feel cold air flowing from the vents? SOLD!
It was also fortunate that the A/C was so easily fixed so that I could get Sully to the doctor sooner. Although...from the moment he walked in the house with Holly he was downplaying the whole thing, saying in a matter-of-fact tone that he felt much better, that it didn't even hurt. Still, when I asked him to squeeze his hand into a fist for me he couldn't do it, so I decided we were definitely going to have it x-Ray'd.
Sully was the SWEETEST. He talked and talked to the doctor and nurses, and x-Ray techs. He was so animated, telling them that it didn't hurt (until the doctor touched the one spot that did hurt, "Every place on me feels good, except RIGHT HERE", pointing to a spot on his wrist). After taking a look at the x-Ray the doctor walked in and announced, "It's broken", and then explained that they would splint it then and put a hard cast on after a few days. At the word "cast" Sully started to tear up. Sully had high hopes that he was just fine, and now the doctor said he was going to have to wear a cast for a month. (Later on he explained that he was crying because it meant he couldn't play on the playground for a month.) Waiting for them to come back to fit the splint, he paced back and forth repeating to himself over and over, "Having a broken arm isn't the worst thing. There are lots of things that are worse" - with tears just under the surface. I wish I had taken a video of it. It was so sweet to watch him pep-talking himself.
By contrast, when I took him to get his hard cast on yesterday he was beaming with pure JOY. With a few days of one-armed experience under his belt he was full of confidence in his ability to adapt (and to still have fun at recess). He was stoked to get the new cast (and to wash his hand again). Sully is like sunshine.
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| We treated ourselves to a mother/son lunch at Chick-fil-a afterward. Look at that happy face! |
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| Later that day with a few signatures. I got first dibs... |
On Friday Mike packed up the youngest three and headed to St. George to be there early enough to get a good night's sleep (sort of) before the marathon. I stayed behind with the older three until after Noble's race.
This race was in Park City, and the coolest course they've done all year in my opinion. They ran all over the hills. Noble was taken out early on when a kid slipped on a rain-soaked hill and knocked down a bunch of runners. This loosened one of Noble's shoe laces, which later caused him to loose his shoe, forcing him to back track to get it and then he had to put it back on. He still finished with a decent time (17:26) - but finished last for Bingham in the varsity race - and was sure he'd lost his place on varsity. He was pretty upset after he crossed the finish line. The coach reassured him that he still held his place - and would run varsity at Region on the 13th. Adversity is good for the soul. It made Noble want to try harder. He told me he will be duct-taping his laces before his next race. He is learning a lot.
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| A pre-race prayer |
As soon as we had finished talking to the coach we got in the car and headed south to St. George. It was a late night, past midnight, when we got in. But traveling with teenagers is a lot easier than traveling with little kids - we drove straight through, no stops.
Mike was up at 4:00 the next morning - and his dad drove him to catch the race bus for the marathon. He was trying to meet up with a guy from the neighborhood so they could run together, but they never found each other in that sea of people (they actually ended up running almost the exact same time - even though our neighbor finished about 5 minutes after Mike. If that doesn't make sense - let me know and I'll explain). He did, however, run into Sister Brewer (who's son is the "other freshman varsity kid" from my previous post) who walked right up to him and smiled and encouraged him (this was probably her 10th St. George marathon). It was a tender mercy for him and helped ease his nerves. (Thank you Diana!)
His goal was to match or beat his dad's time from 1984 (3:40). His splits until about mile 23 were more than fast enough, but he slowed up his last few miles. He ended up finishing 6 minutes slower than Howard (the speed demon) - still not too shabby for a first marathon at 40. Howard reminded Mike that he had been five years younger and two-kids less (they add mileage) when he ran it in '84. :)
The Melton men...
What an awesome experience! I am so impressed that Mike set himself a difficult challenge and went and did it -- without anyone else pushing him or even anyone training with him. He is amazing! He's also in phenomenal shape now. He told me he stopped by the health fair at work today and they told him his BMI was "desirable." Ha ha ha ha. Go Mike!
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