I'm Always Good There

When Chris does per-diem work, I keep Lars for the few hours until the afternoon Kindergarten bus comes. Usually, we hang out at home and play Memory or he helps me do take-offs for work (he’s very good at matching and counting and loves to use different highlighter colors). Once a month, I bring him with me to the blood lab. He leads the way from the parking lot, knows which floor to select in the elevator, sits patiently with me in the waiting room and then stands quietly near me while the tech draws my blood. He usually watches and will sometimes talk to the tech about why there are different colored tubes or if I can have the Incredibles band-aid. He’s never seemed disturbed or frightened by the experience.

This is Spring Break week, so I had both of them today, while Chris worked. In keeping with the Nothing Is Easy theme of the last couple weeks, it was also lab day. On the way over, I asked Lars to fill Ross in on the lab routine. I started him off with the parking and elevator and Lars leading me to the lab. Lars thought a minute and then added, very matter-of-factly, “Then we sign in and wait quietly until they call us and then we go into the room and they do BAD THINGS to Mama. They take her blood out and they KEEP it!” There was an uncomfortable pause and then, “But after that we go home to Starbucks if I’m good and I’m ALWAYS good there.” On reflection, he IS always good there! I never thought much of it before, but now I wonder if it’s because he’s worried about the bad things or because he likes going to Sbux?