Protective instincts are a pretty cool thing. It's not
uncommon to see them in all forms of life.
Think about the mother dog cautiously protecting her newborn
puppies, even as her owner picks them up. There's also the cheetah out on the
savannah, trying desperately to protect her cubs from a starving pack of
hyenas. You even see those kind of protective instincts in cattle. I've
definitely seen cows willing to take a run at someone just for putting an ear
tag on their calf.
Of course, there is one more species that is super
protective of the young. I'm talking about the older sister, bravely trying to
protect her younger brother from any harm. With that, it's time to write about
Ethan's trip to the doctor on Tuesday.
A trip to the doctor for any Holt child is always mild cause
for concern. For one thing, our children are perpetually undersized. To
clarify, their weight is always a little shy of what it should be. For another,
you have to realize that our kids don't really get sick. Therefore, pretty much
any time they visit the doctor, it's for a regularly scheduled exam. In other
words, a shot is coming!
As one can probably gather from what has been written thus
far, Ellie tagged along on this doctor's appointment for her younger brother.
For me, my job was not only to keep Ethan happy and safe, it was also to help
keep Ellie entertained and out of trouble. Lucky for me, Ellie's protective
nature took center stage, giving her plenty to keep her entertained.
During our time in the waiting room, Ellie kept a steady
stream of board books coming for me to read to Ethan as he sat on my lap. Once
we headed back to the exam room, she actually became even more helpful as she
climbed up on the exam table and kept Ethan company while we waited for the
doctor. It was honestly pretty adorable watching the two of them stare out the
window at the snow-covered ground with Ellie providing a running commentary for
Ethan of everything they were seeing.
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| What's all that white stuff out there? |
Soon enough, Ellie's job came to a temporary end as Ethan's
doctor made his appearance. Ethan got a mostly good checkup as he had met all
developmental benchmarks and was healthy. The one thing that our doctor had a
problem with was Ethan's weight. Lucky for us, Ellie's struggles with the same
issue as a baby convinced our doctor that things were alright and Ethan would
grow eventually. In the meantime, we just needed to add formula to his milk and
make sure we're feeding him breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day. With that,
our doctor made his exit while we waited for the inevitable shot.
Before we knew it, our nurse returned to the room, syringe
in hand, to deliver Ethan's shot. While I didn't really think much of it, Ellie
felt much, much differently. I glanced at my daughter to see a
never-before-seen look spreading across her face. Her eyes were squinted in
pure anger and her lips contorted into a semi-growl as she glared menacingly at
the nurse. The look intensified all the more as I helped hold Ethan's little
arms as the nurse delivered the injection in Ethan's right leg.
Once the nurse left, it was time for us to head home. As I
gently helped my shrieking son back into his pajamas, I glanced over at Ellie to see that
the look of disdain had disappeared. Instead, it had been replaced by one of
pure love and concern as she stroked Ethan's head, telling him over and over
that "It'll be alright; Sister's here."
As a parent, you have no idea just how much that little
exchange warmed my heart. It really is great to see that evidence of how much
my kids love each other. Now, if only there was evidence everyday instead of
just on special occasions. Oh well, guess we should take what we can get,
right? #DaddyWrite
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