On-Call

Most of my life is dominated by must, have to, should, and in the rare case that I escape all of these - the guilt that follows. So, it is with relief that I look toward Tuesday night - date night.

Dinner was a success, we talked and laughed while our cell phones sat silently to the side. Not a peep. No calls that Boy was tormenting Tween or Youngest was tying the dog to her bed. So, off we went - headed to shop for exciting items to spice up our time in bed - new pillows. Don't hate us because we make parenting look so glamorous.

Just as we entered the toothpaste aisle - yes we really were shopping for pillows & household goods - my phone chirped. Seeing it was Boy, I brought it to my ear and promptly heard a piercing cry from the background. "Mom, ---- sprayed herself in the face with bug spray....." Shift mental gears - quickly. Instructions were given in quickfire succession: wash her eyes with cool water, calm her, wet a towel and place over her eyes. These were largely done - she was not calmed. Mr Seashore abandoned his quest for bath products as soon as he heard bug sprayed in the face and we made a hasty retreat.

I was on the phone to the pediatrician even before we hit the exit doors, leaving a message with the on-call service. We talked about Youngest and her penchant for getting into things - including the cabinet locks as we drove maybe a bit above the speed limit home. The conversation was focused on anything that wasn't the possibility of  irreparable eye damage. Just as we were entering the neighborhood, Boy called again. It wasn't bug spray, it was pepper spray. Pepper spray that has lived in the junk drawer so long, I forgot we owned any. Don't judge, do you know the inventory of your junk repository? This is awful, but it elicited an internal sigh of relief - pepper spray wouldn't cause blindness.

We arrived home to Youngest with a towel on her face, Boy watching over her, and Tween busily trying to distract Youngest and herself from the chaos of 20 minutes earlier. The story was told, the pepper spray discarded, the doctor reassured us it would be okay, oldest texted to check the status of Youngest, and life returned to its normal pace. Once Youngest was showered and ready for bed, Boy told us we were free to head out again - isn't he sweet - but the moment was gone.

One day, there will be no kids in the house to mistake pepper spray for a flashlight and we will be able to shop all night if we choose, but for now we run the risk of date night being called on account of parenting.