It Won't Happen To Me

When something happens to a child and you see the Facebook post or the internet article, you think to yourself one of two things. 1) Thank G-d that did not happen to me or 2) That would never happen to me.

I admit, I have thought "That would never happen to me." Wrong? Yes. Things happen and they happen to everyone. 

When E1 was four years old, she went missing. We were at a pumpkin patch and this place had rides, etc for children. E2 was napping in the stroller, the hubs went to stand in line for lunch, and E1 asked to play at their playground. I of course let her and stood in the place where she went in to the jungle gym. I watched her go round and round and up and down until I could not see her anymore. I did not panic at first, I called her name, I asked children if they had seen her, I continued to call, now scream, her name. Now, I panic. I RAN to my husband pushing him the stroller saying, "E1 IS MISSING."  I ran around and around and around screaming her name.....nothing. I got a hold of myself. Nothing positive comes from hysteria. I stood in one spot and began looking. There- There in the distance was my four year old. Running towards her, screaming her name, she turned around and smiled and then in that moment began to cry. My brave four year old found a mommy with a stroller and was giving her my cell number. The take away: Make sure your child knows what to do if they get lost and even with a watchful parent, things happen. Stay calm.

When E2 was two years old, we were playing horsie. She was on my back and I was crawling around on all fours. She fell off. She began to SCREAM. At the time, she was extremely speech delayed and could only say "boo boo." I had no idea where. She could not hold a lollipop, a juice box, my hand. As E2 SCREAMED like she had been stabbed in the eye, I calmly put E1 in the car, called my husband and my mom, and drove to the E.R.. It was there after x-rays, that they popped her elbow back in place and she stopped screaming. I had never heard of nurse maid's elbow before. The take away: stay calm and even if you are there, playing with your child, injury can happen.

When E1 was five years old, a week after the above incident, she fell off the neighborhood playground structure. Blood was EVERYWHERE. It was pouring out of her mouth, lip, chin. E1 was HOLLERING in pain. The other moms at the park began to scramble and try to help. I stayed calm. I told E1 to quit crying and to my surprise, she did. I put E2 in the car, called my husband and mom, and drove them to the dentist. With E1's shirt drenched in blood, they cleaned her up, gave her laughing gas, and assessed her teeth. They told me to go the E.R.. She would need stitches. E1 received two stitches in her bottom lip, which she bit through, and seven stitches under her chin, which she split open, and then we were sent home. The take away: stay calm, assess the damage, kids will fall.

When E1 was seven years old, as a family we went to our elementary school playground. We met another family there. Four kids, four adults. One fall. With all of us there, E1 fell from the zip line and landed oddly. With another emergency room visit, followed by an orthopedist visit, E1 wore a cast for three weeks to heal her broken elbow. The take away: No matter how many adults are there, things happen. Kids get hurt.

Last week, E2 was finished with her speech therapy and while I spoke to the speech therapist about the session (standing one foot away from my daughter), a six foot tall bookshelf fell onto E2. Luckily it landed just right and she was not hurt. She was not climbing on the furniture. E2 was taking a toy off the shelf and for whatever reason, it toppled over. She was VERY lucky. The take away: secure your own furniture and ask, no matter where you are, if their furniture is secured. Oh, and stay calm.

Just today, I rear ended a car. It was an accident. E1 began to panic when I firmly, but calmly told her to get out of the car while I swiftly unbuckled E2. The hood was crushed and something was hissing. I moved the girls as far away from the car as possible and again, called my husband and mom. We are all fine, but E1 was scared. I calmed her down and explained to her the take away: Accidents happen.

The point of all this? Accidents DO happen. It can happen to you. There is no judgement from me in your parenting. I have learned to not judge. Shit happens. Things happen to the best of parents. Life is messy. Life is an adventure. The best thing you can do is stay calm so your children stay calm. Nothing positive comes from being hysterical.