Adventures in Parenting

No More

Disclaimer: I only own Avery and Lynsey. I own no one else!

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Trish closed her eyes, manuevering through the narrow corridors of the medical building. She was loaded down with a diaper bag, her purse, the stroller and a tote bag. Lynsey was beside her. Avery was in the stroller.

"Why are we here?" Avery whined. Trish glanced down at her.

"You need your stitches checked. Avery needs a well-baby check. I'm killing two birds with one stone," Trish said. Lynsey's eyes widened. Trish closed her eyes. What a time to use a stupid analogy.

"We're killing birdies?" she asked. Trish sighed.

"No, we're not killing birds. All 'killing two birds with one stone' means is that I'm doing two things at once to save time. Taking Avery to the doctor for her well-baby check and you to get your stitches checked," Trish explained. Lynsey nodded.

"Oh," she said meekly. She walked up to the stroller, and poked Avery in the side of the head. Trish bit her lower lip in an effort to stop from yelling at her. Avery winced, and began to wail.

"Why did you do that?" Trish asked, grabbing Lynsey's arm. Lynsey glanced defiantly into Trish's eyes. "She's a baby! You could hurt her!" Lynsey rolled her eyes.

"So what? She takes all of Daddy's time!" Lynsey exclaimed. Trish tightened her grip on Lynsey's hand. The little girl struggled to get out of her grip. "Let go!"

"No." Trish said. "Everytime I let go, you hurt the baby." Lynsey wriggled, trying to get loose. Trish shook her head. "Young Lady, you are seven years old! She is seven days old! You have no right to hurt her. You could KILL her!" Lynsey dropped to the ground and started screaming. Trish grabbed the stroller and walked a few feet down the hall. Then, she picked up her cellphone and called Amy.

"Is Randy there?"

"What? I can't hear you!"

"IS RANDY THERE?"

"Yes. Where are you? What's all that noise?"

"DOCTOR'S OFFICE. LYNSEY POKED AVERY IN THE HEAD, AND I LOST MY TEMPER!"

"You can stop yelling. Here he is,"

"Trish, what's wrong?"

"I can't handle Lynsey. Get down to the doctor's office."

"Why?"

"I lost my temper when YOUR daughter poked the baby in the head,"

"Why is she screaming?"

"I yelled at her."

"Trish!"

"Your daughter is not going to hurt my baby,"

"Be there." He hung up.

Trish gently unhooked Avery from her carrier. She gently rubbed the baby's back. "You're alright, Baby," Avery still wailed. She glanced down the hall and watched Lynsey scream. Shaking, Trish began to cry. She hated living like this.

Didn't Randy realize how difficult Lynsey was? Didn't he realize how hard Trish was trying? She was physically exhausted. Avery barely let her sleep. When she did let her sleep, Lynsey would wake her by waking Daddy. Her body ached. She could barely breastfeed, without intense pain. Her body hadn't recovered from childbirth.

Why was he expecting her to be able to handle Lynsey?

"Trish, what happened?" Randy asked, holding Lynsey. Trish looked at him.

"I yelled at her! She hurt the baby," Trish replied. Randy sighed.

"It was a little poke, she was just curious!" Randy said, trying to justify his daughter's actions. Trish closed her eyes, and placed Avery in the stroller.

"Tell you what. Go home with your little brat. I am leaving...N-N-NOW!" she muttered angrily. Within minutes, she was on the phone with Amy. She would stay with them, until Randy came to his senses.

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Bet no one saw that coming! Will Randy and Trish reconcil? Will Lynsey get her way and have her parents get back together? Stay connected for chapter 8 of Adventures in Parenting. Coming to a computer screen near you!

Jem