Low Moment in Parenting

Mean mother that I am, I took Nicolas, Melissa and Katie to the doctor for their flu immunizations. We had been waiting for the vaccines to arrive and with two of the kids being asthmatic, it was super important to get the immunizations. Well...Katie cried all the way to the office. Nicolas and Melissa tried to bribe/whine at me to get me to turn the car around. When we finally got to the office, they turned a little silly and I was hopeful things were going to go okay. Oh...the horror of it all....I managed to get a few group photos and then it was time for Nicolas to get his shot. He yelled. He tried to escape, but the nurse was quick and the deed was accomplished. Now...imagine Katie and Melissa watching all of this. Both tried to run from the room. I had Nicolas take Katie out of the room. It took me and two nurses to hold Melissa down for the shot. I was so upset, worn out, and embarrassed. So now...it was time to literally drag Katie into the room. It was like stepping into a cage with a rabid flying monkey. She was everywhere...screaming, kicking, pushing. All of this was directed at not only me, but the other two nurses. I apologized so many times while we were trying to hold her arm still enough to get to the muscle. After it was done, I walked out of the office with my head down, not willing to make eye contact with the completely silent waiting room full of parents and children. I knew what they were thinking... "What's that old white woman doing torturing those sweet black children?" Hey...where's my sympathy for enduring the abuse? Where's my sympathy for saving my children from a potentially nasty virus? Okay...I probably deserved all of this because when I was six years old I pitched such a fit getting an immunization that the needle broke off in my hiney. My mother slapped my unaffected cheek (on my hiney) and carted my sore little backside home. Guess I got what was coming to me! Enjoy the photos or not!