Pediatrics

Skylar found out his newest rotation would be in pediatrics and this freaked him out. I was honestly surprised that he was so nervous to do this rotation. If you ever meet Skylar, within seconds you sort of get this Barney the dinosaur vibe from him—like maybe he missed his life calling. 

He told me he was nervous because he's "not good with kids," which might be the least self-aware statement I've heard from a human mouth since basically everything I ever said before I came out.

When we go visit my family, my nieces and nephews, MY OWN FLESH AND BLOOD, will literally run around me to jump on him. Their official greeting to me is "where's Skylar?" One time a few years ago we stayed at my sister's house to watch her kids while the parents were out of town and the then five-year-old had a terrible nightmare in the middle of the night. I got up to console him and when I got to the room he sobbed "can you just get Skylar? He's better at making me feel better."

And look. I'm not offended by this. I know my limitations. I am incapable of talking to children under the age of 14. I treat all kids like I'm their accountant and I'm concerned about their financials as we near the end of their fiscal year. 

Skylar? He approaches the world with majestic wonder, and kids can sense that from him. He's excited by the same things that excite them, and he treats them like they're his whole world.

Side note: teenagers love me because I treat them like 40-year-old women named Barbara and I think they like being viewed as an adult. Skylar talks to his 17-year-old nephew in the exact same voice you use for your toddler. I have 100% told him he is fully in charge of our future children at least until middle school and then I'll step in at that point and take over. He seemed relieved with this proposition. 

Anyway, I've been trying to remind him about the whole "you're actually really good with children" thing, but he refuses to consider any of the evidence, instead relying on his gut feeling on the matter, which is awesome considering he's an active voter in this country.

He's a week in and he reports "I guess it's going a little better than I expected," which means for Mr. Too Hard On Himself that he is universally adored and about to handed a Nobel Prize, an Emmy, and be named Employee of the Week at Shakey's. 

I'll probably never get the full story, though, since I have to rely on him for all of this information. I really wish we could Never Been Kissed his life so I could see what happens throughout his days. I'd gladly put a camera and mic on him and sit out in front of the children's hospital in a white van with tinted windows watching videos recorded from inside ok I just realized that sounds like a very creepy idea.

Anyway, you should enjoy this really fantastic Strangerville story from one of the best articles I've read in a while written by Rebbie Brassfield about what perfectionism did to her dating experiences at BYU:

This time in Strangerville, Meg and Eli survive a mountain hurricane and Rebbie Brassfield talks about what it was like dating at BYU.

Story

BYU Dating, by Rebbie Brassfield (Music by Less Hayden)

Production by Eli McCann & Meg Walter

~It Just Gets Stranger