Nurse Newlywed

This weekend is going to be somewhat of a long one. In preparation for Mark's recovery from having his wisdom teeth taken out and a weekend of soft foods, we bought groceries to make some soups we'd been wanting to make for ourselves (nothing fancy - potato & leek and split pea). Then, last night he decides that we need to make a soup, because otherwise, what is he going to have for lunch. I started to explain that he might not want to eat after surgery, but gave up after deciding that it would be easier if I didn't have to make dinner while taking care of him.

Nurse duty today started when I left work at lunch to pick him up at the doctor's office. When I got there he was still coming out from under sedation, so the nurse (or technician, or whatever) brought me back to sit with him while he came to. She handed me an ice pack to hold against his face to help with the swelling.

Aww, he looked so cute and helpless. For about ten minutes, then he started coming back to full consciousness, which meant that he noticed that someone was holding ice against his neck and pushed it down. As he drifted in and out for a few minutes, I kept putting it on and he would wake up and push it off. Well, whatever. Next thing you know, he's telling me (more garbling) that he's ready to go, but of course the nurse is nowhere to be found. A couple of minutes later, she comes by, checks to see if he can stand, and then sends us on our merry way.

We hail a cab and sit in midtown traffic until we get to the apartment, where it becomes urgent that I stop at the desk and get whatever package came that morning before we go upstairs. Once upstairs, M tells me hi is hungry, so I ask if he wants me to make him a smoothie. Luckily, all he wants is a pudding cup, so I give him his painkiller and antibiotic, then realize his mouth is still numb, so he's dribbling orange juice on his shirt, the sofa, and the floor. I grab a towel and set it near him, next to the comforter, and his pillow. Then I gather all the electronic accoutrement of a good recovery (xbox remote, tv remote, and plugged-in laptop) and arrange them strategically near him, along with dog treats in case he needed to bribe Sasha. I feel guilty, but rush to get back to work, just a little more than two hours after I left, which really isn't that bad.

I commiserated to one of my co-workers, whose husband must be like M, because she knew exactly what I was talking about. Taking care of M is great, until he's decided you've stopped taking care of him and are now nagging him, which is when he gets cranky. The crankiness will usually go away, but then the cranky line moves, I cross it, he gets cranky, and then I get annoyed and stop being helpful, which is seen as uncaring and witchy.

We usually close up shop early (between 4 and 5) on Fridays, so I got to come home after not being away for too long. He seems good so far, not in too much pain, though the xbox controller may have to have the battery pack switched out before too long. We've only crossed the cranky line once, but I was being a little to naggy, and he apologized, so we're off to a good start.