My 21-year old son had had a sore throat for a few days, and Friday morning he miraculously agreed not only to get checked out so that we could rule out strep, but also to let me accompany him.
After he signed in and we sat down, he immediately checked his phone. I looked around the waiting room and every single person was on his or her phone. Every. Single. One. Enjoy the following mom-son conversations he has agreed to let me publish on my blog today:
Me: Look at everyone staring at their phones. Good lord.
Him: Hmmph.
Me: Why don’t you put your phone away, be a rebel, look like a real man.
Him: What else is there to do? What do you do when you’re waiting in an office?
Me: Stare at people until I make them uncomfortable.
Him: (Laughs)
5-minute pause.
Me: Sore throats are the worst.
Him: Yeah. I had tonsillitis for two weeks at school.
Me: Excuse me?
Him: My roommates said my nodes were swollen. I definitely had tonsillitis.
Me: Why didn’t you go to the health center?
Him: I got through it.
Me: Are you saying you cured your own tonsillitis?
Him: That’s what I’m saying.
Me: That could offer hope to millions of people a year paying to get their tonsils removed.
Him: (Laughs)
5-minute pause.
Him: I miss my cat.
(He refers to the cat that lives in his campus house).
Me: We still haven’t had a turn at holiday babysitting.
Him: I know.
Me: Bring him home at Thanksgiving.
Him: Maybe.
Me: It would be worth the look on your brother’s face when he walked in and saw a cat in the house.
Him: (Laughs). He hates cats.
Me: I know. I don’t know why.
Him: He says he’s allergic to them.
Me: He’s not. He made it up.
Him: Why?
Me: Because Dad was. He thinks it’s genetic.
Him: (Laughs)
Long pause. Mother and young girl enter ladies’ room, young girl begins dry heaving and crying. You can hear the mother comforting her.
Me: That’s a shame. It’s scary to throw up.
Him: It’s the worst.
Me: Did you get sick the night of your 21st?
Him: No. I threw up earlier that day though.
Me: So you engaged in preemptive vomiting?
Him: You could say that.
Me: (Laughing).
He receives a text that we are 9th in line, which we estimate is a minimum of one hour. We tell the receptionist we will be in the car until it is our turn. Once in the car, he shows me a BreezyGolf video of a toddler using his plastic golf club to hit a plastic golf ball out of tall grass. After 20 or so attempts, the baby finally throws the club in frustration. We laugh. After only one minute of waiting, he receives a phone call that he can come in for his appointment. Happily, he comments:
“We should have done this sooner.”
As I watch his six-foot tall athletic frame amble its way into the medical center, looking both strong but vulnerable, I can’t help but think:
Yes, we should.
(Strep test was negative).
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