Liquid Medicine

This afternoon, to prepare for an upcoming medical procedure, I had to drink a disgusting bottle of liquid medicine. Jordan will be the first to tell you that I am pretty much the worst when it come to taking liquid medicine of any kind (just thinking of Pepto sends a shiver down my spine), and this was no exception.

When I took a swig, my face made a tight, ugly grimace. After swallowing the vile poison, I let out an almost involuntary "YUUUUUUUUH!"

Then Baby Jo burst into tears.

The poor kid! He was so distressed by my performance. He didn't know what was going on, only that his mom was in some sort of pain. I immediately swept him up in my arms, smothered him with kisses, and repeated the phrases, "I'm okay! Mommy's happy!" and "Everything is fine. Everything is fine." It took him a while to calm down his sobs. Luckily, Dad came to rescue with a distracting flashlight and all was well again.

Jordan and I talked this evening about how sweet and heartbreaking Jo's tears were for me. We talked about how there are so many children out there in the world who have to witness their mothers in real pain, often by the hands of someone else. So many children have to see their mothers hurt, knowing that there is nothing they can do to stop it. So many toddlers have to hear their mothers cry out in pain, being unable to do anything but cry in fear.

It can be overwhelming to think of all the pain that children have to witness and experience. It makes my heart heavy. But there is some comfort to be had in knowing that MY son will never have to worry about mom getting hurt at home. It's comforting to know that seeing mom beat, abused, or humiliated at home will never ever happen. Jordan and I have total control over preventing our sweet boy seeing mom getting hurt at home with nothing more to do than cry.

If seeing mommy almost puke over taking a medication is the scariest thing Jo has seen so far, I am okay with that.