Ear infection HELL. Â We are living in ear infection HELL. Â Holden is on his 7th round of antibiotics. Â Because of this, I missed a couple of work days this past week—as did Rob. Â I have been sick for the past couple of weeks, and now *I* am also getting another ear infection. Â I am starting to lose the hearing in my left ear again. Â Why must we live in this hell? Â Why? Â When I was teaching on Friday, I had my students sign up for presentation slots for the term. Â One of the students apparently told me that she wanted a particular presentation date, but I did not hear her, and I ended up giving the slot to the girl who was standing right next to me. Â The girl who I did not hear actually YELLED at ME for passing her over and giving her slot to someone else. Â I told her I didn’t hear her and that she would have to pick an alternative date. Â It really pisses me off 1) that she is such a spoiled, disrespectful snot, and 2) that my hearing has really gotten that bad. Â I have a feeling this is going to be a looooong semester.
As for Holden, his appointment with the ENT is on Tuesday. Â It can’t come soon enough. Â This past week I stayed with H in our guest bedroom each night. Â He had a 103 degree temp for several days, and he would ask for sips of water every 30 minutes all night long. Â He has been cranky and irritable during the day, and so have I. Â It’s been a nightmare to coordinate the transportation for all of the doctor’s visits and getting to work, and picking him up early from daycare, etc. Â It’s been hell.
Despite being in a lot of discomfort, Holden has been a pretty good trooper through it all. Â His favorite activity these days (even when sick), is playing with his new puzzle. Â It’s a puzzle with dump trucks, backhoes, cement mixers, and fire trucks. Â Amazingly, he can actually correctly identify all of these vehicles by pointing. Â He likes to do the puzzle with my assistance—or rather, he likes to hand me each piece (he says “piece” each time he hands me a new puzzle piece) and have me put the puzzle together for him. Â If he happens to give me a piece that is not on the periphery of the puzzle and is just sort of hanging out in the center of the puzzle, waiting to be attached to neighboring puzzle pieces, he gets REALLY upset. Â He picks up the unfettered piece and throws it across the room. Â The unattached pieces disrupt his sense of order in a big way, which sheds some significant light onto his personality. Â He likes order, completion, and symmetry. Â Type A personalities appear to be the product of both nature *and* nurture, indeed.
Holden has been working on his alphabet and counting. Â He can now count to “W.” Â His recitation of numbers sounds something like this: Â “1, 2, 3, 5, 2, yellow, W.” Â He is learning what numbers are conceptually as well (although one could argue against this based on the way he counts to W.) Â Holden can correctly tell me how many “amnals” there are at the farm. Â He likes to count buses in his “School Bus” board book. Â His magnetic alphabet letters get a lot of attention these days as well. Â He understands that different symbols represent different sounds, but he doesn’t know the particulars of which symbol goes with which sound. Â His favorite letter is “W,” which is the only one he consistently identifies.
Holden has fun building towers with his Duplo blocks, although I must say that the Duplos have been the impetus for more frustration than enjoyment. Â If he happens to accidentally knock down his Duplo skyscraper or take a little too long to stack the blocks, he gets mad and throws the pieces across the room. Â Sometimes, he will destroy his entire tower with one swift swing of the arm. Â He gets frustrated easily (mostly with himself) and ends up crying over some of these apparently colossal Duplo failures. Â It’s frustrating for me to watch, and it definitely taxes my patience at times to explain AGAIN that it’s all OK and that we can re-build the tower AGAIN if we just take our time AGAIN and take some deep breaths AGAIN. Â Sometimes, though, when I see him get red in the face, scream, and then throw all of his hard work across the room, I think about how liberating it would be for me to do the same sort of thing at work. Â Just replace “Duplo blocks” with “vapid undergraduate students,” and you will get the idea.
OK, the Benedryl is finally kicking in. Â More updates are sure to come after our visit to the ENT next week. Â Say some super awesome thoughts/prayers/wishes for a swift recovery for our little guy. Â He (and we) need it.