Adventures of the Sparkly Bandaid

Well this last friday night was quite a night.

I came home from work beat from a week of work, late nights visiting with friends and family. On this very night after a very minimal amount of weeding, hoopin girl and I went in to forage for some easy friday night dinner fixins.

Like many four-year olds, my girl is packed with energy, boundless it seems sometimes. "Mom," she asked, "can I do some rolls on the couch?" One of her favorite indoor activities is doing forward rolls on the comfy, cushy living room couch. As a mom, I know this is probably not the best choice for me to make, that is let her allow her to use the couch as a gymnastics mat, balance beam or vault. There is another voice though that says ah let her try, there are pillows, the space is safe and she'll be alright. And besides I continue to say to myself, don't be too overprotective of her physical pursuits. She is feeling strong and confident. I know it must sound crazy--like what on earth am I doing letting her stand on the couch and roll across the pillows but there I was once again letting it happen trusting all would be fine. All was going well, until her next trick. As fast as I could say "no hopping on one foot on the edge of the couch" she slipped from the hop, rolled off the couch and into corner edge of our wooden coffee table. Watching her fall felt like slow motion but I don't think I've ever moved faster scooping her up. No doubt about it, this was a scary fall. I moved fast, holding her so tight racing to the kitchen to clean her up, holding a compress to the wound. I was scared for my girl knowing she was scared and I was scared for me as her mom. I felt such vulnerability, wanting so badly to fix everything right then and there and knowing it wasn't going to be that easy. I had to grab hold of myself, the scared self and tell that self to be calm, be calm for my girl. Honestly that took a minute or two or three. I called her dad well rather yelled loudly for her dad to come in the house quick. I was feeling better by the minute, calmer. We knew this was not an ordinary cut and that yeah we better get to the doctor fast.

We raced to the car and headed to the doctor--so fortunate that our pediatrician's office can take care of coffee table accidents such as this one. We told our girl of a couple of our adventures as kids--my ricochet into the neighbors clothes line that sent me in for 2 stitches and her dad's fall on his chin that got him a stitch or two.

Maybe our wonderful doctor was trying to make me feel better telling me that her own 3 kids climb and jump and roll of their couch all the time and that in fact they'd had several coffee table incidents that very day--whatever it was fact or fiction it worked.

Our girl was brave. Four stitches, three stories and even a couple of songs later, we were all feeling much better. The best part in her opinion of this latest adventure is the sparkly silver and oh so shiny bandaid that adorns her forehead. She was back to herself in full swing the next day, spinning and dancing with her hoop, ready to climb again. We will take a break from the tumbling until she is fully healed and well the green couch will remain just that our comfy couch better for ready and cuddling retired now from indoor gymnastics.

I know I feel so completely grateful that she is back to her sparkly, shiny energetic and sassy self four stitches and all.