kiddos

yesterday as i was working in the lactation clinic, i thought to myself, "hmmm...babies. i think i wouldn't mind working with babies." and then our last consult for the day was a russian family-a beautiful newborn girl, accompanied by the mother, the grandmother and her five year old brother. and although i did like working with the newborn, my favorite was working with rueben.

during the 45 minutes that he spent in the office, he demonstrated his ability to turn into a turtle (for whenever his baby sister cried too loudly) at least five times. this act involved pulling his head and arms into his coat and scrunching up his legs, which he explained in great detail not only the nature of turtles but also why it was necessary for him to imitate their behavior. he also explained the nature of volacanoes and the difference between a shark & whale's diet. i also got to learn that the plush demonstration breast that was sitting on the table (to help in teaching about lactation to the new parents) was not a breast at all! instead it was declared to be a naked bird, because of the distinct lack of feathers. it was difficult to keep the laughter in, but he did make a convincing argument, as he showed me all the bird-like features on this object. he also asked my full name, after he had disclosed his own and boldly declared it to be a very nice name. (he muttered it under his breath several times to ensure that it was as good as it sounded upon his intial hearing of it. apparently it passed the test.) i also enjoyed him explaining to me that everytime his grandmother would speak, that she was speaking in russian. she would begin to converse with the mother, and then he would lean toward me and whisper the grand and glorious secret, "she is speaking in russian." he was a delight, and made me even more resolute in my decision to work with children in some capacity as soon as i am able.

and then, after my reminder of how much i like kids, i walk into the bruin's den this morning to get invited to work at an international school in china as a school nurse. while this is definitely not something i want to do right now, the way my heart jumped at the prospective makes me certain that whether or not i go to china or not, i definitely want to work with kids. i'm willing to get some experience with unwell grown-ups first, but i can't deny what my heart tells me. a school nurse, a pediatric nurse, a camp nurse...all these make my heart sing and dance. so someday & hopefully someday not too far into the future, i'll get to do one of them.