"Paw-Paw Has a Cold"

I don't like writing about this, but I like keeping an accurate log of events. I was volunteering in Nate's kindergarten class last Monday when Lady called me to tell me about Paw-Paw's health scare. Luckily, I was  in the workroom at the time of the call. I finished out my volunteering duties (after all, I am a Tennessee Volunteer) at the school so that Nate wouldn't wonder where I was. I didn't want to get him upset at school. I'm glad we stuck around for art because that was the most fun Nate has had in art all year.

Nate hates art and anything creative, but he had fun painting his face.

He came home with a painted face and a Christopher Columbus hat.

After school I told him and Kathryn that Paw-Paw was sick and that I was going to go to Georgia to check on him. Kathryn immediately said, "Paw-Paw has a cold?" I said, "No, not a cold." She said, "Yesssss, he does. Paw-Paw does have a cold." She just knew that's what it was. She spent the first day hanging out in the waiting areas. She didn't mind though. She actually thought it was a lot of fun going in the gift shop with Lady and buying candy and BBQ chips everyday.

And lounging in the waiting area watching cartoons.

She was such a good little girl. I think she brightened everyone's day who walked by the window and saw her.

Kathryn is all ears and all eyes and picks up on everything. She began talking about Paw-Paw and told us, "Paw-Paw has blood pressure."

One nice nurse finally decided to let Kathryn go back and visit Paw-Paw, but only after Paw-Paw began begging to go out to see her in the waiting area. Just passing by her in the waiting area to and from tests wasn't going to cut it for Paw-Paw.

She was a little freaked out at first.

It didn't last long though. She can overcome anything to get to visit with Paw-Paw.

Kathryn let Paw-Paw know he wasn't the only one with a medical condition. She showed him her scrape on her knee. These kids don't like to get one-upped by anybody.

Kathryn logged many hours snoozing in various places around the hospital.

So cute she still sleeps like this sometimes. It reminds me of her baby days.

She never once complained or got grumpy the entire visit. I think not having a nagging big brother around had a lot to do with that too.

She caught up on sleep every chance she got!

Here are some videos of Kathryn talking to Lady on the phone one morning after she woke up.

To add to Kathryn's trivializing Paw-Paw's hospital visit, Nate called and talked to Paw-Paw and reminded him that he's been to the hospital before too. Last year he ran into a wall corner and cut his forehead. He ended up getting it glued back together and bandaged up. These were his exact words on the phone: "Paw-Paw, remember I've been to the hospital before too? Mine was badder than yours though because mine was bleeding and needed a band-aid. Yours is just the kind that you have to stay at the hospital for a couple of days." In Nathan's mind, if it doesn't require a bandage it's not that serious. So Paw-Paw told Nate that he had a bandaid on his arm and Nate went back and looked at the pictures and saw it, so Nate began realizing that maybe Paw-Paw really did having something wrong.