Yesterday was by far the toughest day that Ivan and I have had. Tuesday he had to go to the doctor for a final round of "catch-up" vaccinations. The poor guy received 4, yes 4, shots. The poor kid, no one should have to have that many shots in one day. That was the last round like that thankfully. From here on out it will be a max of two per visit.
Anyway, we really needed to go to the grocery store yesterday and since our morning was going so well, I decided that Ivan would miss his morning nap and we would make our weekly shopping trip. I (foolishly) thought that he was feeling 100% and that the worst of the effects from the shots were behind us. Ivan was a little cranky on Wednesday and had a slight temperature. Thursday however, he awoke in good spirits and with no sign of a fever. So, I thought that we were safe to get out and do our thing.
Oh, how naive I was! We were shopping, checking items off of the list as we went. We are on a pretty tight budget so I try to keep a running total going while I shop on the calculator, so that should we come a across a non-essential item I can decide if we have the money for it. Things were moving right along and we were about 2/3 of the way through our list when we hit the deli. There was a woman in front of me who ordered 4 different meats and several types of cheese. Of course there was only one person working the deli, so I had to wait for her order to be filled in it's entirety so that I could get my measly half a pound of Lebanon Bologna (something that you can only find in the deli and not in the prepackaged luncheon meat section). Ivan started to whine a little so I thought he might be getting a little hungry. So, I pulled out some fruit snacks that he loves and gave him those. He quickly returned to his usual happy self. I thought score one for me...I knew what he wanted! When the snack was gone he had some water and continued to be content. I put the wrapper in my pocket and he got upset, so I gave it back thinking that he must want to play with it. He threw it down and he just let go like never before. He started screaming and crying and wailing like a kid possessed. I took him out of the cart and held him, a little better, but not much. After I was done at the deli counter, I put him back in the cart and made my way over to the produce section...his favorite. We usually touch, smell and discuss all of the various fruits and vege's that we are buying for the week and then Ivan places them in the bag for me. Normally he loves this part of the grocery store. This time however, he was just raging like a madman. Everytime I tried to get him interested in something he would just start crying harder.
Finally, I just started running through the store and throwing stuff into my cart, budget be darned. I just had to get out of there! So we get into a checkout lane and we wait and wait and wait. The lady in front of me did not have that much stuff (which is why I chose that lane) but she was trying to teach her kids about how to pay for things, so they each had to have their treats rung up separately. Ivan calmed down a little as he looked at my Sesame Street checks, but when I had to take them away to pay, he cranked up all over again.
At long last, we made it home safe and sound, but not before we were both in tears. I laid Ivan down for a nap as soon as we got home. The poor guy was asleep before I even got his blanket over him. He napped for quite a while that afternoon, and I sat in the room with him. I just couldn't leave him after all that.
