I’m Starving

It’s a saying we use all the time: “I’m starving”.   We say it when we’re the tiniest bit hungry or when it’s past meal time or when we just want to eat a lot of food (which for me is frequently).   We’re not starving, we’re just hungry.   If you’re reading this blog, you’re likely not in a situation where you’re literally starving.   You hopefully have the means to eat and drink when your body needs food.    Still, it’s a phrase that’s highly overused.

On Sunday my daughter couldn’t eat anything after dinner time because of her procedure the following day.  We finished dinner at around six-thirty and she had some juice shortly before bed.   The next morning she could have clear liquids up until nine o’clock in the morning.   She drank a decent number of calories before we went to the hospital, but because there was no food, she told me she was hungry about seventeen times.   So many times in fact that I suggested we head over to the hospital early so I could get her mind off the hunger and to the toys she likes to play with in the pre-op rooms.

While we were at the hospital she informed me several times that, “my tummy is telling me I’m hungry”.   She knows and understands she can’t eat until after the procedure on account of how many times she’s done this by now, but it didn’t stop her from complaining.    Considering I hadn’t eaten anything since the night before as well, I was in agreement with her.

There was a NICU patient with an emergency that Dr. Trese needed to see before us, which absolutely takes precedence and we certainly don’t complain about little tiny babies getting emergency care they need, but it meant an even longer wait for us.    By the time my daughter went into the OR it was past 3:30PM.  

The procedure was quick and she recovered swiftly from the short time under anesthesia and we were off to the mall to get the one thing she wanted: Chick-Fil-A.   The line once we got there was exceptionally long seeing as the restaurant had just opened.   There must have been forty people in front of us easily.  

We eventually got our food at almost six o’clock, nearly twenty-four hours from our last meal.    It was good.  It was delicious.   I was a very happy person as I sat there eating and watching my daughter get Polynesian sauce all over the table, her face and her arms as she ate her nuggets.

We had been hungry, that’s for sure, but we weren’t starving.   We weren’t even close to starving.   Not having enough food to sustain your body is no joke and something awful no one should have to endure.   It’s a giving time of year.  Hopefully much of the giving will be able to be used to feed people for more than just the holiday season.

The Big Boy Update:  My son is now obsessed with Harry Potter.   My husband finished reading the first book last night and they started in on book two tonight.   My son has decided he wants to have a Harry Potter birthday party.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  In one of those non-sequitur comments children are so famous for making, my daughter asked me in the car yesterday, “mommy, why is Dolly so big?”   Dolly is a doll (Dolly is her name) that is about four feet tall.   She’s floppy and can easily fit into a bag, but she’s pretty big.   She is much, much bigger than any of the other stuffed animals we have.   I told her I didn’t know.  Sometimes as a parent you just don’t have a good answer to those “why” questions.

And Now For Something Completely Different:  You don’t realize how much you appreciate Poopourri until you’re in a hotel without any.