"Only call me if you have called 911 first"

I found this post in my 'draft' file. It's from several years ago as my kids (and husband) are at different stages in life and responsibility but I think it's a good story worth still telling. 

Those are my parting words to my husband every time I leave the house for 'adult time, girls time, sanity time, whatever you would like to call it'. I learned many years ago that that statement is necessary because Dear Husband would call me on a whim....to ask where something was, what to feed the kids for dinner, to talk down a tantruming child, just to test me to see if I will answer my cellphone. If I didn't answer the cellphone then he would continue to call to get his point across. When I would finally hear it while buried in my purse, he would forget what he had initially called me for and just chew me out that I wasn't available on his whim. It got old real quick and so it began with my parting words when I dared to leave the house. "Only call me if you have already called 911 first!". 

I learned this past Saturday (many years ago at time of this post) that I have failed in one aspect of being the 'manager' of our house. I had taken it for granted that Dear Husband would know who to call in an emergency and what hospital to head for. I was out getting my hair colored and I was sitting down to let the hair dye ripen on my head on the sofa at the salon. The receptionist walks over to me with the salon phone and hands it to me. First thoughts in my head 'Oh Jeez, Pirate is having a meltdown and I have been called to talk him down. Now I am going to get an earful about not hearing my phone'. Nope that's not what happened. I pick up the phone and the first thing Dear Husband says is "What hospital do I take Princess to?"  What?, What did you just say? What is is wrong?! "What hospital do I take Princess to?" - He states again, ignoring my repeated question. I raise my voice and repeat 'What happened to her?"

He tells me she fell and is bleeding all over the place. I then ask if he needs to call 911. Nope, he just doens't know what hospital to go to. Let me stop my story here and explain the hospital options in our community. They are not complicated or confusing. Actually my Dear Husband has always been quite (or should I say VERY) opinionated about the hospitals in our community. We have three choices, one being a Kaiser and we are not Kaiser members, so that in not an option. That leaves us two options. One is a community hospital that is deserate need of a revamp and tthe other is a privately owned hospital that my Dear Husband, all his siblings and our children were born at. Hmmmm... And he asks which hospital to take Princess to????? Really???? Where did I fail on this information? Did I just assume that he would know that answer. I don't know my point to my story but I think it is kinda ironic and it makes me smile just a bit that my Dear Husband can excel in his professional life yet when the going gets rough in our simple home life, he doesn't think too clearly. Going forward now, when I leave the house for some much needed ME time, I say my typical "Only call me if you have called 911 first, and then I remind him our choice of hospital. Bless his sweet heart. xoxox