The Lodge

I this post was about an incredible weekend that I had tucked away in a beautiful lodge located in the moutains. I wish I had an enormous amout of pictures to share with you of the breathtaking scenery and amazing sites I had seen. But, the lodge I am about to post about doesn't encompass anything of that sort. In fact, this lodge created the most traumatic mommyhood event to date, for me.

You see, a few weekends ago we went to a sweet wedding. We watched the bride and groom (the Preacher Man's cousin) join thier lives in holy matrimony. We witnessed the exchanging of vows between a woman and a man that the Lord intended. But, it was a crazy day before we even left town.

It was a two hour drive to the location of the wedding. We packed up that morning feeling prepared for anything. We left in plenty of time to make it to the wedding and have spare time to get Ruthie Jane ready, because we all know a two year old can't stay all gussied up in a two hour car ride. Well, we had a few minor mishaps along the way and I ended up hurriedly dressing Ruthie Jane and arriving to the church just moments before the ceremony began. But, we made it. Phew....

The ceremony was short and sweet and we all headed to the reception hall. It was beautifully decorated in hot pink, black, and an aqua/tealish color. Everything was color coordinated right down to the small jewels that were strewn around on each table. We walked in, chose a round table for all our family to sit at and began enjoying conversation before the bride and groom made their first appearance as the Mr. & Mrs.

And, then it happened...

Ruthie Jane quietly looked up at me and whispered, "Momma, I've got something stuck in my nose." I calmy and quietly replied, "What is it sweetheart?" At this point I was praying it was only a large booger and she said, "I don't know, but it's stuck."


I could see the brief sense of panic on her beautiful little face. Yet, I remained very calm. I tilted her head back and sure enough, there was a pink jewel lodged in her left nostril. At this point everyone was still conversing and had no idea that Ruthie Jane and I were having a minor scarefest of our own. I gently placed my finger on her right nostril and closed her mouth and asked her to blow real hard. After seeing that we weren't getting anywhere I tapped the Preacher Man on the leg, and quietly let him in on our problem. He sat Ruthie Jane on his lap and tried the same routine, and then we decided we must go to the Emergency Room. We quietly announced it to the table of family and off we went.


Ruthie Jane was pretty scared at this point. There were lots of tears and many whimpers as we took that drive.

We went to the Emergency Room, in small town USA and got Ruthie Jane all checked in. We were called back and the trauma began. Ruthie Jane as always had a slight fear of doctors due to an extremely unsensitive Pediatrican that we visited when first moving off. However, her fear has lessened, but I believe it may have returned with a vengenace after this experience.

I knew it would be a rough time for all of us. I mean, trying to get something lodged in a the nose of a toddler in no way, shape, or form could be easy. I just don't think I was prepared for what was about to take place. We had a waiting room full of family for support and even bubbles leftover from the wedding used for occuping a two year old rather than sending the bride and groom away for their honeymoon.








When the doctor came in, Ruthie Jane was wrapped in a sheet mummy-style to avoid the kicking and flailing of arms. Then she was held down by four adults while the doctor tried to remove the pink jewel from her nose. She screamed so loudly that she was even heard in the waiting room. She repeatedly pleaded, "No, Doctor No!, It hurts TOO MUCH!" and "The doctor is breaking my nose!"

I knew that he wasn't breaking her nose but she was breaking my heart. In the moment I just kept thinking, "OK, maybe this time they will get it." But, they just kept experimenting with different tools and procedures and finally the Preacher Man put it to an end. He diplomatically told them what a great job they were doing and how much he appreciated their help, but if they didn't have the right tools then we weren't willing to keep trying. They agreed, and sent us home with an antibiotic, sad little girl, pink jewel still in the nose, and a shook up Momma & Daddy.

I held it together real well, until I called my parents to tell them all that was going on. Ruthie Jane was asleep with a blood crusty nose, the Preacher Man was getting the prescription filled, and I was waiting in the car. I called my parents and my dad answered the phone. I began blubbering like a baby trying to explain to him all that Ruthie Jane had went through. We talked awhile then he put Mom on, the waterworks started again. My Momma even said, "Who is this?" to my dad because all I could do was sob.

The Preacher Man eventually came out with her prescription and a bag full of goodies for her when she woke up. We drove home with occasional silence trying to sort through the days events in our parenting minds. We heard our little one come in and out of sleep whispering, "Oh, it hurts." It was such a long day and needless to say were were exhausted.

Ruthie Jane woke up just a few minutes before we reached our home and  she received her bag of goodies for being such a trooper. She never complained with a sore nose but she did speak of the hospital visit with lots of questions. She wondered why "they wrapped her up like a baby" and made sure we were clear that she DID NOT want to go back.

I made a few phone calls and tried to figure out where to go next. When you're new at this side of parenting it's hard. I know nothing about the speciality of Ear, Nose, & Throat. I know nothing about dealing with insurance and figuring out the proper steps to do things as they would wish. But, I learned. And, after that long day I knew this adventure wasn't over. The pink jewel still had to be removed from her pretty little nose...