Woke up fully rested. That 8-hour feeling that deserves a kid-like stretch: arms, legs, toes! “Today will be great,” I thought.
I had our Venezuela outfits ready on the bed and decided to greet this special day with some traditional tequeños. I was full of inspiration; before deciding what to slice about, I remembered photos I took yesterday and decided to “slice” on Instagram stories. Boom, boom—one tiny story after another.
“Today’s Cultural Celebration will offer so many more stories! I’ll wait to slice later,” I decided.
The day ahead, a big promise of memorable moments. Oh! And I remembered our KLA Slicers’ meet-up. What a day this will be!
Then, “my ear hurts.”
Shit.
It’ll be fine. Let’s feed her and do her hair.
She tugs on her left ear.
Crap.
Maybe it’s a dead bug and all we have to do is pull it out! Really, moms can think that way. A dead bug is easier than an ear infection.
We get ready, I’m faking hope.
We get in the car. One hand on her ear, the other holding a book. “If she’s reading, it must not hurt that bad…” I realize I’m a terrible mom, lol.
I start making mental plans to reschedule my day.
Woke up fully rested, ready for a long day, and was back at home watching TV by 8:30 with a 10:30 appointment to go see the pediatrician.
My slice began typing itself in my head: I’m truly grateful to be in a position to take a day off and stay home with my sick baby. But also, the frustration of missing work stuff I was looking forward to is real. No shame there.
By 11:00 am, we were home, under a round of ibuprofen, and watching Frozen for the 90th time. I chose to ignore my fun work tasks and instead worked on a summer writing thingy I’ll offer in July. Which I am choosing to add here to fight the imposter syndrome!
It was a great day after all. And Elena is doing fine now that she started antibiotics ✌️🏼♥️
Jessica ends her slices sharing where she’s writing from. Tonight I must do the same because I am writing this slice from Vicky’s patio as I hear some of my slicers chat.
Start with a Story 
Faking hope is a full time job that we just do when we are working mothers 🤣
LikeLike
I loved seeing where you’re slicing from. You captured the pivoting of a sick child perfectly. The hope for it to be nothing, to the realization that they need more attention. You’re a great mom!
LikeLike
Your slice is so humorous, and I love the comraderie showcased in the photo at the end!
LikeLike
Oh the pivoting of parenthood…You capture that “I’m riding a rug that someone is shaking out” feeling from the optimism of a good night’s sleep to the 90th viewing of Frozen. Thank goodness for antibiotics.
LikeLike