How ya' feelin', Max?

Poor Mr. Max has had a pretty rough week, but not according to him. It started last week with a little cough, and escalated last Wednesday night into a full blown 3:00 am emergency room visit on account of the fact that he woke up unable to get any air in his lungs. I wish I could say Jake and I handled that situation with calm and grace as it should have been handled, but truth be told, we pretty much PANICKED. I mean, the boy was NOT BREATHING! At least we were finally able to make the call to go the E.R. and we ended up being glad that we did. They gave him a breathing treatment and some steroids and sent him on his merry way. He and Jake got home around 6:30 am, and you would have thought he'd been at the playground. He is such a happy little guy!

I love that Max is such a happy fella! He really is, without a doubt, the most positive person I have ever known. He never complains. He always looks for the bright side. He is so positive, in fact, that he never feels anything less that "Great!" The day after the E.R. visit: "How ya' feelin', Max?" ... "Oh, great!" Eyes bulging out, fever, nose stopped up: "How ya' feelin', Max?" ... "Great!" I kept him home last Thursday, but went ahead and sent him to school last Friday. (After all, he said he felt great.) When I picked him up at the bus stop Friday, he was literally laying down on the sidewalk looking absolutely, miserably sick and tired: "Poor Max! How ya' feelin'?" ... "Great."

Maybe it's not a coincidence that the name 'Max' actually means 'Greatest'?

Max rested for the weekend, insisting he was "great" the whole time. He went on to school, basketball, and guitar early this week. He didn't seem 100% but he seemed o.k. (and he said he was "Great!") By Wednesday, it became clear that maybe Max wasn't the best person to ask. He came home from school near tears, clutching a heat pack to his ear. "How ya' feelin', Max?" ... you guessed it ... a pitiful, unconvincing "great".

His eardrum actually ruptured Wednesday night. He sat down with the work he hadn't finished in class that day, and tried to do it. I told him not to worry about it, sent him up to bed, and told him that Mrs. Poling would understand if he didn't have it the next day. As he lay in his bed, he called me into his room and said with utter resolve, "Mom, I insist that you let me work."

I really didn't know what to say to that. I saw years of me pushing myself too hard flash before my eyes, and wished he would just take advantage of this beautiful opportunity to sleep and do nothing with absolutely no consequences. But how to you tell a kid who insists on doing his homework not to do it?? Parenting is hard.

Anyway, at least the ear problem gave me good reason to tell Max that, whether he felt great or not, we were going to the doctor. He's got some good antibiotics for the ear now and has spent today reading, playing video games, watching movies, and eating heart-shaped doughnuts. Not a bad life for someone who has already got it so great. Hopefully, he'll be feeling even better than "great" tomorrow!