QPD: Naked Soccer

I will admit it: I have been really edgy lately. I am tired of the madness. I know that we have a lot to be thankful for and that our situation could be much worse. Katie feels fine. But I do want some peace of mind and a return to the joys of Maintenance that we experienced this Fall. I want neutrophils. I want my kid to be a kid. I want us to do kid things.

We think Katie is a champion kid, of course. She is a dress up queen and a dancing fool. She loves art projects and books and dolls. She doesn't let much get in the way of her own personal celebration of childhood. We continue to look for ways to support her efforts, as illustrated by one of my recent Questionable Parenting Decisions (QPDs). I thought I would share thed Naked Soccer story:

Katie has a Nerf soccer ball, and she often plays with it at home. She insisted that we had to bring it to Burlington, and I relented, despite the difficulty of fitting it into my purse, which was already full of all her other favorite goodies. (How many children bring Dora lunch boxes full of Play Doh to the Children's Specialty Center? I would guess that there are a lot of them!) Anyway, after a port access that was nothing short of traumatic--the nurse was great, but Katie just panicked--and a terrible movie (the Barbie version of the Dickens classic A Christmas Carol--yikes), Katie decided that it was time to play soccer. She scampered about the infusion bay clad only in Strawberry Shortcake underpants, pink toenails flashing as she kicked the ball while directing the nurses she had drafted into a very bizarre soccer league. ("You stand by your chair, and Mommy will stay here. I'll be the other part of the triangle.") "Only Katie," I thought. I probably should have dressed her. I probably should have spared the nurses. We were noisy. We were dangerous. We added chaos to the proceedings in the infusion bay. We interrupted traffic in the hall. I let it all go. I let her play. I encouraged her, actually, because she was having fun.

This was probably not my best parenting moment. I should have set some boundaries. Katie will read this story many years from now and wonder why I let her zip around naked in public. I let you cause chaos, Miss Katie, because you were happy, because you relaxed for a few minutes in the midst of a long day, because for once you forgot about your port and ran around with both arms at your sides, laughing and smiling. For the record, it was worth it, and I would do it again. I'm just sorry I didn't get a picture.