So I'm at the new outlet center by my house this past Sunday with my mom and Jill and Bill. It's a nice way to spend Mother's Day and it keeps me from missing Terry who was away on business.
Micah and I run into the restroom to change his diaper and we meet "fawning lady." There are many fawning ladies in the greater metro area of Houston, but there are even more in the 'burbs. In fact, I used to be a suburban fawning lady. I'd make googly eyes and baby talk in the general direction of any baby who came within cheek-pinching distance. Now that I have Micah, no other baby lives up to him (although Stephen Riggs, and I'm sure Hazel Roberts, come close), and so I have ceased fawning.
"Fawning lady" in the restroom is hard core, though. Apparently Micah reminds her of her grandson. She likes his hair, his cheeks, his clothes. And when I finish changing his diaper and let him walk rather than strapping him into his stroller, she mentions, "He's such a good walker!" And she walks with us down the hall leading from the restroom. Just as we push through the doors to resume shopping, she says, "You know, my daughter's legs did that when she was young and after we put her in leg braces for 9 months, the problem went away."
Fawning lady is lucky she did not, then and there, become "black and blue-eyed lady." I know she was talking about how Micah is a bit pidgeon-toed. I'm aware of it. But we are no where in the realm of needing leg braces. And even if his walk was much more severe, if, say, one leg was just a bloody stump from the knee down, WHEN(!) does it become the job of random passerbys to point this out? In our age of complete obsession with political correctness where you can't even say that a deaf person is deaf, you have to say they are "hearing impaired," when did it become acceptable to point out other people's shortcomings? *Note to fawning lady and equally delusional people everywhere: SHUT IT.
Nevertheless, there I was, two days later asking my pediatrician about it. Thankfully, the wonderful man echoed my assumptions and assured me that Micah's legs will straighten on their own and that I don't need to pay it any attention.
Micah's pediatrician, Dr. Lee Dockray, well, he rocks. I went kicking and screaming to him after our old (and very far away) pediatrician assured us that we could trust Dr. Dockray because she'd been trained by him. His office is only about 15 minutes away. He's the only doctor in the office which means we usually have the waiting room to ourselves. The nurses are nice and friendly. I never wait more than 20 minutes to see the Dr (although I've only been twice, so that might change) including time in the waiting room and the patient room.
The first time I met him, I thought he was nice enough. Nothing special, but he listened to me and was patient. But before I left, his nurse handed me a booklet, written by Dr. Dockray, for new patients.
Fast forward eight hours and here I am lying in bed reading, not the latest Jennifer Weiner, but an out-dated (it mentions Regis and Kathy Lee) and under-designed (ugly yellow cover with a rudimentary illustration of a baby) booklet on everything about babies according to Dockray. And I am enthralled. Yes, enthralled. His writing is excellent. His opinions are forthright. He does not sugar-coat how he feels. He gives opinions on potty training, pacifiers, and circumcision. FINALLY! A doctor who isn't scared to share what he thinks because of fear of alienating those who disagree! Hoorah! I mean, come on, doctors!! YOU have the degree and the training. YOU tell us what you really think; no coddling! If fawning lady can be so brazen, so should you!
So, I'm reading and the crazy thing is, I'm laughing! It's funny! He's extremely sarcastic and interesting and I'm turning pages like it's a Grisham novel. Terry keeps eying me suspiciously. And after I interrupt whatever sport it is he's watching for the 15th time to read him an excerpt, he finally says, "So, you like this pediatrician that much, huh? Should I be worried?" I know he is joking, but I still pause and ponder the question seriously.
Nope. Terry is in luck. I can't even remember what ol' Dockray looks like. So, no real danger of any attraction.
But it occurs to me that many other women might feel differently. After all, how appealing is a man who knows and loves kids, is funny and kind, and bandages your baby's cuts and scrapes?
There's a book in there somewhere...or a Lifetime movie.
2 comments:
You've got me intrigued...I wanna read Dr. Dockray's book too! What does he say about potty training?
About potty training: He says parenting comes with enough challenges so his opinion is to make as much of it as easy as you can. So, he says to wait till they're showing a real interest in it and know the parts of the body and recognize the sensation of having to go and that they should be able to dress themselves (at least from the waist down). But that's just his fangled Western opinion!
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