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Monday, July 26, 2010

Diagnosis: Swimmers Ear

Today, in an answer to my deepest desire to hear from my son, I got a call from Kamp. It seems that the man-cub has swimmers ear. He's six hundred miles away, and just like any other red-blooded male I know, he's finally made his way to the infirmary because "it really hurts" and can no longer just be ignored.

DAMN. IT.

Conner told *Nurse Betty* that his ear was bothering him a couple of weeks ago, but he never mentioned anything related to aches or pains to yours truly. And so, in addition to the aching down deep in my soul that my son is so far away and hurting, I also had the honor of sounding like an obtuse mother who wasn't paying attention to my son's anguish before shipping his butt off to Kamp. That's what any good mother would do, right?

Well, thank goodness that there was no hint of judgement from *Nurse Betty*. She clearly exhibits the savvy compassion required to treat the teenage population, while also soothing the nerves and fears of the mothers/fathers who miss their teenagers. THE GIRL GOT SKILLZ!! She advised that Conner has orders to stay out of the lake, the pool, and away from the water slide until she "clears" him. At dinner tonight she will track him down again and evaluate how he's doing.

Having the full, undivided attention of one of the staff, I took the liberty of asking *Nurse Betty* to kindly mention to C that his mother would LOVE to hear from him, and misses him terribly. This gave us each a good (on the edge of freaking emotional) giggle, because she also has kids at Kamp but they're not at the same location with her. She, like me, scours the Kamp website every evening looking for pictures of her kids...wishing for a letter...wondering what wonderful things they are doing on any given day....the same song and dance.

If I could see Conner for just five minutes, I would hug him FIERCELY. Then I would bend him over my knee and spank him like a naughty two-year-old for not writting me yet! LOL Obviously this is an exaggeration, but I am certainly not above a good-humored pop or two, for emphasis. :)


*****

3 comments:

ethnically ambiguous said...

I'm not looking forward to the day when my little men become teens and head off for summer camp or long trips without me. I feel like I'm going to be stalker mom, you know the one hiding in the bushes popping out from time to time to make sure they re-apply sunblock or something crazy like that.
How long is your son at Kamp?

Melissa B. said...

Swimmer's ear can be such a painful ordeal. Good news, though, that your son is staying at camp. He'll learn the hard way, too, if he immerses his ear in that lake too early!

Tina L. Hook said...

Oh, I used to get this one every summer. Hope your little guy feels better.