As far as days go, this one was a mixed bag. Plans for heading to the dojo for filming were averted at the last minute, all because of one toenail. Yep, Madison's toe has gotten to the point where we need some antibiotic. The soaking in the water isn't quite enough, although that will continue. This morning, we visited the doctor, who gave us the necessary prescription while telling us what we already knew: soak in water, take the antibiotic, and try to work it out on your own. If not, then we'll have to go do a podiatrist pediatrician. Try saying that three times fast.
This morning's appointment was squeezed it, so we had to act fast. We got there pretty fast, and were in and out - even grabbing the prescription on the way home. Hopefully that will do the trick. Our family has a bad time with toenails, but I don't know a single family that doesn't. Baba had to have a toenail removed once - and so did Aunt Shain. So it is on both sides of the family. Of course, Madison is adopted. But still, she's probably got ancestry in China - the Emperor, no doubt - who suffered from ingrown toenails as a child. I'm sure all the Emperor's advisors were rushing to his aid to try to figure out a cure. But none of them could. They even sought advice from all the animals in the land, and yet not one could give good counsel on how to deal with this ingrown toenail.
The dog suggested barking at the toenail, the thought being that an evil spirit would be driven away. Yet despite all the Emperor's barking and howling, the toenail remained sore.
The tiger suggested using his claws to swipe away the bad skin above the toenail. But this was a nightmarishly frightening prospect filled with terror, and the Emperor politely declined.
The rabbit suggested hopping up and down on the sore foot, stomping away the bad feeling. But when the Emperor tried this, it only got worse.
The ox suggested using his horn to pry the toenail upward. But the Emperor thought that was a dumb idea.
So the mighty dragon was asked next. He thought for a moment, and then came to a decision in his mind. He took a deep breath, and immediately all the Emperor's advisors knew that the dragon was about to breath fire upon the beleaguered toe. It goes without saying that they all ran for their lives.
The Emperor was distraught. Would he have to live with this toenail pain for all the days of his life?
Yet one day, desperate for any answer, a trusted advisor suggested talking to the rat.
"The rat?" the Emperor asked. "That is the lowest of animals! And yet, because I am so discomforted, I shall nonetheless ask this lowly beast for his suggestion."
And so he did. He humbled himself to the rat, begging him for any suggestion at all to relieve his pain.
What the rat told him was this: you must rest your toes in Kunming Lake near your Summer Palace. Keep them there for fifteen minutes three times each day. For seven days.
The Emperor thought this idea was silly. Yet he was desperate, as already described above. So he did as the rat said. Each day, he went down to the lake, and each day he dipped his big toe in Kunming Lake, keeping it there for fifteen minutes as the rat said.
His advisors warned him, "What would China say, with its Emperor listening to a rat's advice?"
Nevertheless, he did as the rat said. And on the seventh day, and on the third time, he removed his toe from the lake.
And nothing was changed. But his toe was softer, he noticed. And that's when he saw the rat, who had come to pay a visit.
"Nothing is changed, rat," the Emperor said.
But the rat did not reply. Instead, he raced forward to the Emperor's big toe, and he did the unthinkable. He chewed away the bad skin with his little rat teeth. It was certainly unexpected. And honestly pretty gross.
And just when he was about to call his guards to imprison the rat for life, he noticed something remarkable: his pain was gone!
He looked to the rat and said, "My pain is gone!"
The rat only smiled, and bowed graciously.
The Emperor told him, "What can I do for such a worthy beast like yourself? I can give you jewels, gold, or land in this kingdom. Name it, and it is yours!"
The rat thought about it, but did not want any physical item. What he did want though, was respect. For even the Emperor himself had initially looked down upon the rat.
And that's when an idea occurred to the Emperor. "From this point on," said he, "You will have your own year. The Year of the Rat. And it is during this year that we will all be reminded that each one of us serves an important purpose. And that no one should be looked down upon."
Small rat tears formed around the rat's eyes, tears of gratitude. And from that point on, he lived comfortably near the palace, friends with the Emperor for all his days.
And that is why every twelve years, after recognizing dragons, dogs, tigers and rabbits, we take time to remember humility, and how everyone serves an important purpose in the kingdom.
****
That was quite a rabbit trail. Or a rat trail. Regardless, the next thing we did was head to the movies. This is what you do when you're having a challenging week. We went to see "Frozen Fever" and "Cinderella" at the theater, even going to the noon showing. Now Madison was off of school, so this was a rare opportunity. We knew the theater would be crowded later (it was), so we saw the first showing of "Cinderella" that we could.
And it was wonderful - both movies were. It was so nice to sit together for such a happy moment with Madison. She was a little princess again, and just loving all the princess stuff going on in front of her. Plus, there was new Anna and Elsa footage to look at, with Olaf, Sven, Kristoff and even Hans in the mix. She had a great time. We had a great time, and of course everyone is wishing we could go to Disney again. Occasionally, Daddy would look over at his girls to the right - Mommy and Madison. The two of them were just loving this movie. Madison was completely entranced, and Daddy was quietly praying that some day she would have that sort of Cinderella moment with the right sort of prince. It's the same desperate prayer of all fathers though!
As for wanting to go back to Disney: Alas, not so soon. For the car is totaled. Yes, the 2005 Kia Amanti is no more. This is largely the result of the speed control problem. Buyer beware. It's a lurking danger within this car, something that clearly could have been a lot worse. And the call today was not so great. The damage to the car (driving through an office building) actually exceeded the value of the car. Go figure. So it more than likely will be leaving our family, and this after such a short time with us.
Today, we went to a few places before going home. We dropped by to get some new ballet shoes, as the other ones were too tight. Not good if you have a bad toe. Hopefully Madison will be better by this Monday.
The other place we went to was Cracker Barrel. This was just what we needed. We haven't been out to eat in a while, so this was a good idea. We enjoyed a nice meal together, and Mommy did a little shopping for clothing afterwards. And when we were done, we went home to stay. The weather is getting chilly, which is winter's last gasp I think. But we put a fire in the fireplace and popped in the last "Lilo and Stitch" movie of the series later on tonight. This after piano practice, of course. We've got plenty to catch up on there, but we've got some time this weekend for piano as well. With the weather warming up, we'll have time to motivate her with a trip to Dairy Queen for some ice cream!
This morning's appointment was squeezed it, so we had to act fast. We got there pretty fast, and were in and out - even grabbing the prescription on the way home. Hopefully that will do the trick. Our family has a bad time with toenails, but I don't know a single family that doesn't. Baba had to have a toenail removed once - and so did Aunt Shain. So it is on both sides of the family. Of course, Madison is adopted. But still, she's probably got ancestry in China - the Emperor, no doubt - who suffered from ingrown toenails as a child. I'm sure all the Emperor's advisors were rushing to his aid to try to figure out a cure. But none of them could. They even sought advice from all the animals in the land, and yet not one could give good counsel on how to deal with this ingrown toenail.
The dog suggested barking at the toenail, the thought being that an evil spirit would be driven away. Yet despite all the Emperor's barking and howling, the toenail remained sore.
The tiger suggested using his claws to swipe away the bad skin above the toenail. But this was a nightmarishly frightening prospect filled with terror, and the Emperor politely declined.
The rabbit suggested hopping up and down on the sore foot, stomping away the bad feeling. But when the Emperor tried this, it only got worse.
The ox suggested using his horn to pry the toenail upward. But the Emperor thought that was a dumb idea.
So the mighty dragon was asked next. He thought for a moment, and then came to a decision in his mind. He took a deep breath, and immediately all the Emperor's advisors knew that the dragon was about to breath fire upon the beleaguered toe. It goes without saying that they all ran for their lives.
The Emperor was distraught. Would he have to live with this toenail pain for all the days of his life?
Yet one day, desperate for any answer, a trusted advisor suggested talking to the rat.
"The rat?" the Emperor asked. "That is the lowest of animals! And yet, because I am so discomforted, I shall nonetheless ask this lowly beast for his suggestion."
And so he did. He humbled himself to the rat, begging him for any suggestion at all to relieve his pain.
What the rat told him was this: you must rest your toes in Kunming Lake near your Summer Palace. Keep them there for fifteen minutes three times each day. For seven days.
The Emperor thought this idea was silly. Yet he was desperate, as already described above. So he did as the rat said. Each day, he went down to the lake, and each day he dipped his big toe in Kunming Lake, keeping it there for fifteen minutes as the rat said.
His advisors warned him, "What would China say, with its Emperor listening to a rat's advice?"
Nevertheless, he did as the rat said. And on the seventh day, and on the third time, he removed his toe from the lake.
And nothing was changed. But his toe was softer, he noticed. And that's when he saw the rat, who had come to pay a visit.
"Nothing is changed, rat," the Emperor said.
But the rat did not reply. Instead, he raced forward to the Emperor's big toe, and he did the unthinkable. He chewed away the bad skin with his little rat teeth. It was certainly unexpected. And honestly pretty gross.
And just when he was about to call his guards to imprison the rat for life, he noticed something remarkable: his pain was gone!
He looked to the rat and said, "My pain is gone!"
The rat only smiled, and bowed graciously.
The Emperor told him, "What can I do for such a worthy beast like yourself? I can give you jewels, gold, or land in this kingdom. Name it, and it is yours!"
The rat thought about it, but did not want any physical item. What he did want though, was respect. For even the Emperor himself had initially looked down upon the rat.
And that's when an idea occurred to the Emperor. "From this point on," said he, "You will have your own year. The Year of the Rat. And it is during this year that we will all be reminded that each one of us serves an important purpose. And that no one should be looked down upon."
Small rat tears formed around the rat's eyes, tears of gratitude. And from that point on, he lived comfortably near the palace, friends with the Emperor for all his days.
And that is why every twelve years, after recognizing dragons, dogs, tigers and rabbits, we take time to remember humility, and how everyone serves an important purpose in the kingdom.
****
That was quite a rabbit trail. Or a rat trail. Regardless, the next thing we did was head to the movies. This is what you do when you're having a challenging week. We went to see "Frozen Fever" and "Cinderella" at the theater, even going to the noon showing. Now Madison was off of school, so this was a rare opportunity. We knew the theater would be crowded later (it was), so we saw the first showing of "Cinderella" that we could.
And it was wonderful - both movies were. It was so nice to sit together for such a happy moment with Madison. She was a little princess again, and just loving all the princess stuff going on in front of her. Plus, there was new Anna and Elsa footage to look at, with Olaf, Sven, Kristoff and even Hans in the mix. She had a great time. We had a great time, and of course everyone is wishing we could go to Disney again. Occasionally, Daddy would look over at his girls to the right - Mommy and Madison. The two of them were just loving this movie. Madison was completely entranced, and Daddy was quietly praying that some day she would have that sort of Cinderella moment with the right sort of prince. It's the same desperate prayer of all fathers though!
As for wanting to go back to Disney: Alas, not so soon. For the car is totaled. Yes, the 2005 Kia Amanti is no more. This is largely the result of the speed control problem. Buyer beware. It's a lurking danger within this car, something that clearly could have been a lot worse. And the call today was not so great. The damage to the car (driving through an office building) actually exceeded the value of the car. Go figure. So it more than likely will be leaving our family, and this after such a short time with us.
Today, we went to a few places before going home. We dropped by to get some new ballet shoes, as the other ones were too tight. Not good if you have a bad toe. Hopefully Madison will be better by this Monday.
The other place we went to was Cracker Barrel. This was just what we needed. We haven't been out to eat in a while, so this was a good idea. We enjoyed a nice meal together, and Mommy did a little shopping for clothing afterwards. And when we were done, we went home to stay. The weather is getting chilly, which is winter's last gasp I think. But we put a fire in the fireplace and popped in the last "Lilo and Stitch" movie of the series later on tonight. This after piano practice, of course. We've got plenty to catch up on there, but we've got some time this weekend for piano as well. With the weather warming up, we'll have time to motivate her with a trip to Dairy Queen for some ice cream!
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