Toddlers Escaping Death

Last night Katherine had a pretty big accident that ended without so much as a bump or scrape.  It was one of those things that could have ended badly.  Like, really badly.

We were over at Brian's parent's house for the evening so that I could attend a bridal shower for his sister.  Just as we were about to load all the kids in the car and head home, Katherine decided to make one very large end table her own personal jungle gym.  She secured her hands to the edge, lifted up both her feet and that's when the table, and the massive lamp that sat atop it, toppled over on top of her.  Except it didn't.  Miraculously both the lamp and table somehow missed her little body.  But the dent left in the hardwood floors is enough to make me a little nauseous.

There was a lot of panic.  And screaming.  And crying.  It was pretty traumatic.  And I'm not just writing that for the sake of drama.

Bobby ended up on the floor in the rush to the scene so he was crying.  William, not understanding everyone's sudden alarm, was crying.  At least half the adults were choked up.  And Katherine, scared out of her mind, was of course hysterical.

I secured Bobby and Brian took to Katherine.  It didn't take too long to realize that we had just narrowly avoided a major incident.  We combed through her little body upside and down.  After her broken arm earlier this summer I was having a bit of PTSD.  If there was a problem I certainly wasn't going to let it linger for a couple of days like I did before.

Nana offered ice cream and all was right in the world.

I think I feel the worst for Brian's mom who has called and texted me no less than five times since last night.  She knows it could have easily gone the other way and keeps rewinding and replaying the events in her head.

I admit to thinking about it a few times as I tried to fall asleep last night.  But mostly I'm unaffected.

The truth is, these things happen.  Kids are constantly just barely missing death's door or serious injury.  If you really think about it, it's a damn miracle any kid makes it to their third birthday unscathed.  And Katherine's guardian angel, in particular, seems to be working overtime.

Toddlers, by nature, are curious beings and you just do the best you can to keep them safe.  And then you pray like their life depends on it.  Because it does.

The Toddler

In other more light-hearted news, we are in the midst of a major heatwave.  Which is funny because we had a rather mild summer.  I would argue we had some of the best weather in the country for the better part of July and August.  But just like Old Man Winter never forgets about us, neither do the dog days of summer.  We're playing out the final days of summer vacation in the A/C or outside with our toes deeply submerged in ice cold water.

And so, with sweat dripping down our brows, we're crawling to the finish line.  That being the first day of school in four very long, very hot days.  Today has been so boring and dull that I described it to Brian as "a black hole of infinite nothingness."  Which is pretty dark now that I'm rereading it.  But when the most productive thing done all day was to relocate all the school supplies from the Target bag to the backpacks, well, we're struggling.

But at the very least today will go out with all my children still in tact and apparently, as of late, that's saying a lot.