Shaky

With a threatening nuclear disaster in Japan as a backdrop, life feels pretty shaky here right now.

Peter keeps waking up with a swollen face.  Yesterday we let him stay home because he was embarassed, but we decided he couldn't stay out forever.  It's not painful, just puffy, so that his eyes are little slits.  It goes down by the end of the day.  Allergy medicine doesn't seem to help. 

So this morning, Carl got him up for school and then let him sleep longer when he said he was feeling weak and shaky.  I got him up a couple of hours later so he could eat some breakfast and keep his blood sugar up.  He went willingly off to school soon after, but then realized his water bottle was downstairs and hurried down to get it.  When he got back up, he leaned on Carl a little saying, "Daddy, my heart is pounding so fast!"

Carl and I just say, "Mmm hmm" when he mentions things like that.  What else can we say?

Just now a representative of Make a Wish called to set up an appointment to meet us on Saturday.  Peter asked who was on the phone, so I asked him if he had heard of Make a Wish.  He said no.  I said, "Well, it's a group of people who give wishes to people like you.  You know, like having all those blood tests because your blood is sick.  You get to choose where you want to go, or what you want to do."

"I don't WANT a wish."

"Oh, I think you should wait and talk to the man from Make a Wish before you say that.  Isn't there some place you'd like to go?"

"NO!"  (typical Peter)

"How about going to California to see Shilpa and Sanju and Sahil and Aisha?"

"Oh, yeah, I want to see Shilpa and Sanju!  That's what I want.  But nothing else."

"Hey, we could go to Disneyland while we're out there."

"No.  We WENT to Disneyland."

"Wait, that was Disneyworld, in Florida!  Disneyland is in California. It's different."

"No it isn't!  I don't want to go to Disneyland.  It's MY CHOICE!"

At this point, it was obvious that the conversation had gone on far too long already, and it was my fault.  But just like it is typical Peter to be contrary about anything special he is offered, it is also typical Peter that his biggest wish would be to see his Indian cousin and her family.  Shilpa is the daughter of Sheela, my Indian sister, who we will be visiting in Dubai later this month.  When I was an exchange student in India in '73-'74, Sheela was 18 and just starting her medical training.

That reminds me -- Peter needs t-shirts!  Everything he has is too big!