I love that smelly girl

Please don't think I'm cruel for the following post. It's meant as a light-hearted look at the situation. I'm not picking on my daughter, and I in fact, love her more than I could ever begin to describe. I'm choosing laughter (and maybe a little exaggeration) as my outlet to a busy week! :)

I think I might be a bad mom. Even though my daughter had surgery this week, I had a really hard time cuddling her. Or comforting her. Or even being in the same room as her! My stomach turned every time she got near. It's not that I don't love that little girl, because that certainly is not the case. Its the smell!

Have you ever been around road kill? In July? About a week after it was hit? That's the smell! It's coming from her nose, her mouth and her ears. When I first noticed it, I was certain that she had an infection. Or maybe a rodent crawled in the back of her throat and died?! I was about to strap her in the car and b-line for the hospital, when the surgical center called to check in on her. The nurse told me it was normal, nothing to worry about, and as long as she doesn't get a fever over 101, everything is fine.

The nurses reassurance was nice, but that didn't help my gag reflex! I think I may have injured my neck by craning my head so far away from her while I cuddled her during a movie yesterday! And at night the swelling has caused some major snoring that somehow gushes out more foul smelling air that literally fills the house. Last night I resisted the urge to turn on the light to check for green cartoon vapor lines coming from her mouth!

I'm sure it doesn't help that she has no interest in eating right now. Every once in a while, she will wander into the kitchen. I run in and follow her like an over-excited chihuahua puppy. "Do you want a popcicle? Ice cream? Jello? I'll make you some potatoes? Or soup! Even candy! You can have ANYTHING you want!" I think my eagerness creeps her out a bit, so she slowly backs away and tells me she doesn't want anything yet.

So, today, I was putting away some laundry and I heard McKenzie go into the kitchen. A chair scraped as it was dragged across the floor. I was sure she was going to climb up on the counter, but I resisted running in and checking on her or offering any help. I sat anxiously as I waited for some clue as to what she was doing. A few minutes later, she came in to my room carrying a brownie on a plate. "I got one for you, too, mom!" She had found a spatula in the drawer, climbed onto the counter, found a dish, and perfectly cut and plated a brownie. For me. I scooped her up in my arms and we had the biggest hug. And I didn't even cringe when I kissed the frosting off of her lip. I love that little girl!