Every parent out there knows the length to which they are willing to go just to see their kids happy. And I honestly believe that this is even more true for parents hose children have gone through an illness and spent weeks and even months in a hospital.
Well, my daughter had just finished her final round of chemo and wanted to spend a day at the pool without thinking of doctors, hospitals, and syringes. All she wanted was to feel like any other kid out there, so we ended up booking a small resort and hour drive from home. To many, getting to a place like that wasn’t much of a big deal, but to her, it meant the world.
When checking in, the lady at the counter handed us some clips to use for reserving our spots early since the pool area would be crowded. I caught myself apologizing to her whenever my daughter’s goggles dropped on the ground and again when there was a problem with my credit card. This is what a whole year spent in hospitals and making numerous calls to insurance companies will do to you. You end up developing this awful habit of always apologizing to everybody around you, thinking that you are nothing but an inconvenience to others.
The following morning she woke up before sunrise wearing an oversized swimsuit and the biggest smile you have ever seen on someone. And yes, she still had her hospital ID bracelet on, and didn’t force her to take it off since she felt a bit more secure having it.
Next thing, we found ourselves two fabulous seats in the shade of the large umbrella, stayed there for a while, and then went on to grab some smoothies. It probably took less than 15 minutes before we were back.
However, when we got back, we saw a woman wearing this white fancy swimming suit sitting on one of the chairs, and a man sitting right next to her, on my daughter’s chair. What’s more, our towels were thrown near the trash can.
Since it was a very special day for both me and my daughter, I wasn’t in the mood of getting into an argument with any of them. I approached and told them, as politely as I could, that those chairs were ours, but the woman didn’t even look up and just said if you leave, you lose the spot. I then pointed to our room clips on the table, and when she actually bothered to look at us, she saw my daughter’s bald head and her hospital bracelet. Rather than apologizing and feeling bad about stealing our seats, she made an ugly face at me and said that we should find some other place. Those around us who got to hear the conversation was as shocked as I was. In fact, I was so mad I could have exploded, but I did not want to embarrass my little girl in front of everybody.
We ended up sitting in broken chairs at the very back with the direct sunlight shining on us. My daughter was looking so miserable, wondering why couldn’t we have our place. It was heartbreaking not knowing what to tell her since people can sometimes just be mean, but a minute later, one of the resort workers passed by with a giant blue box and winked at me. Then he went straight to that couple and loudly told them they were the special guests of the week, handing them a prize box full of VIP perks, spa vouchers, and fancy dinner reservations.
The woman was thrilled, but then the guy asked for her room number to activate the vouchers. As soon as she gave it, he stopped and said the prizes weren’t actually for her room after all. Then the manager and a lifeguard stepped in. The manager explained that the VIP box was actually for whoever was assigned to those specific chairs. The woman tried to claim we had abandoned them, but the lifeguard called her out, saying we’d only been gone fifteen minutes and he literally watched her throw our towels away. Everyone around the pool was staring while the couple had to pack up their stuff and leave in total embarrassment.
Then, the resort guy handed out a small box to my daughter. There was a plush turtle wearing sunglasses, some coupons for desserts, and a card from the employees wishing her well and encouraging her to keep being brave and welcoming her back to just being a kid. The smoothie guy gave us a wave, and the housekeeper was even in tears. The manager later told me that he noticed that I had apologized to all the employees since the time we checked in, and he wanted to tell me that I hadn’t done anything wrong at all. It really hit me hard because I realized I’d spent a year apologizing to doctors, insurance agents, and strangers, just begging the world to make a little room for my daughter, forgetting along the way that she deserves every right to be there.
We got our chairs back, and we were even given some extra smoothies.
In the afternoon, a woman with a young boy in a medical mask came over to the pool. There was the same fearful and uncertain expression on her face as I once had on mine; the fear of whether she was even allowed in. I looked at her and let her know that we had plenty of space, and dropped an extra towel for her. Soon enough, the kids were showing off their scars as if they were some badge of honor. As I sat in the sunshine, I found out I no longer had to battle the whole world.
Please SHARE this article with your family and friends on Facebook.
Bored Daddy
Love and Peace