When I was little, my mom was rarely ill. But the few times I remember her ever having a cold, I would go into her room and offer to “help” and she would just say how she wanted to be left alone. Oh, my poor little feelings were so hurt. But, now that I’m the mom of three, I think I understand where mom was coming from!

I blogged last week about my abnormal mammogram finding . Today, I had the follow-up biopsy. I’ve been preparing the kids for Mommy not feeling 100% over the last few days. I explained the procedure and what was going to happen. I explained what they were trying to do, and that the doctors weren’t intentionally trying to hurt Mommy.

Hubby has a flexible schedule, and was able to be Parent on Duty while I had the procedure done. However, he had a critical meeting, held about an hour away, scheduled for mid-afternoon. Without the buffer of my husband, I had to fend off children with honorable intentions all afternoon!

My youngest kept coming in to “see the needles” that were in Mommy. I explained the procedure again ... and again ... and again. In fact, I explained it every time he came in, until he finally seemed to get it (after a long discussion about bandages, and how I didn’t get a cool one with any cool characters on it!).

My daughter kept coming in to give me pictures that she had drawn and to see if I needed anything. Whereas, my oldest just wanted to come in every so often “to give [me] love.”

I did let them know I was in a bit of pain, and would like to try to take a nap. Initially, they were a bit noisy, but I was able to get them quieted down sufficiently enough to get a cat nap!

Though at times I feel like my mom did, I do try to remember how hurt my feelings got. I hope that I balance the need for peace and quiet with enough explaining so that my children don’t have tender feelings as I did. I think the key is in preparation and communication. Hopefully, I did a decent job with both!

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