Preparing for the Worst

My youngest went for a long-awaited MRI on Friday. Because he's non-verbal and can't stay still, things like this require the poor guy to have a general anaesthetic, which turns a 45-minute scan into a day-long ordeal, complete with fasting. Tell any 13 year-old boy he can't have breakfast, or lunch, or even water, and see how well that goes over. 

My zen-like commitment to meditation and mindfulness somehow went right out the window during the build-up to this event. By the time we were leaving the house at 6:30 AM, I'd already prepared myself for the following dramatic scenes:

• an early-morning wrestling match at the fridge
• a tantrum all the way to the hospital
• arriving late because of rush-hour traffic
• more wrestling matches in the waiting room, during sedation, at gas-mask time, and after waking him up in recovery

 For the record, not one of these things actually happened. 

As is often the case when you're married to the military, I was on my own for this, but my sister did come to the hospital just before lunchtime to help me get him out to the car in a wheelchair, which also did not turn out to be the wild fiasco I'd invented in my mind. The day went immediately from medical melodrama to buddy comedy. My only regret is forgetting to take a picture of us getting stuck in the elevator and pushing him out of there Weekend at Bernie's style. 

Here's a shot of my not-so-little monkey shortly after our arrival at the MRI department:

Not overjoyed with the backless gown, but certainly not in a state that would end with a heart monitor being thrown across the room (another scenario I mentally prepared for).

When we got home (completely beating the rush-hour traffic I assumed would plague us both ways), I found this waiting for me in the mailbox:

Thank you so much to Debra She Who Seeks for this absolutely lovely surprise. The universe was truly in alignment that day, as it couldn't have arrived at a better time! 

And so, a day I dreaded for weeks turned out just fine, and then some. Apparently I'm not the zen master I like to think I am.

So, the obvious lesson here is that there are better ways to spend my energy than letting my mind go wild preparing for disaster when there's no sign any such thing is imminent. This week, I will listen to some podcasts, do a little crafting, eat some refined white carbs when no one is looking, and enjoy this amazing spring weather. 

Unless, of course, the house catches fire. Or the car blows up. Or the cat eats a pack of silica gel...