With a house of girls come certain expectations, for example, lots of pink sparkles, hair ties all over the place, and fewer trips to the emergency room.
But we have an Anna. The kid who loves to buck the trend and find new ways to do things. Two broken noses (well, the same nose, broken twice), terrific bumps on the head, and some nasty wounds have been a part of her life since she was little. Our pediatrician called her a "mother-killer."
But she took us to a new level last Saturday at the beach. On a walk with Dad, Anna was running and got tripped. She fell right into a big metal screw which split her eye right open. I was not with them. I was lying on my towel in the sunshine thinking how perfect the day was. Daisy came running over saying that Anna fell and cut her eye. As I was thinking that it was probably just another Anna injury that needed lots of love and hugs and a cold drink of water, I looked up and saw Kelly carrying Anna who had his shirt over her eye. That was a bad sign. At that moment, time stopped and I felt an extra measure of calm and support. Immediately, I knew just what to do and how to do it. I was able to stay calm, reassure Anna, and quickly get everything packed up. It surprised me even as I was in the middle of things that I had that kind of presence of mind. I am not a medical kind of person, after all.
Here is the "after" picture. Kelly took quite a few "before" pictures, too, but they are way too graphic for a blog.What I learned on Saturday is that God may not give us more than we can handle, but when challenges come, He will strengthen us and give us what we need. This was just a little example, but it's in the little things that we learn to trust and accept.
Anna's stitches come out next week. The doctor said that we could remove them ourselves, but I think that exceeds the limit of what I'm able to handle. There's doing what is required, and then there's reckless abandon, and that's a line I don't want to cross.
2 comments:
Poor Anna! There's nothing quite like "big owie's" on your daughter's face. Whit did the same to us in the toy room... twenty stitches later, things were looking up! We went to the beach after and with two days before the stitches were to come out, she pulled them out herself in one swoop, in a restaurant! Maybe we should introduce them?! LOL
But what I really wanted to comment about was that I LOVED this post. You put in to words so perfectly the thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head this morning! Love it.
And, you looked darling in your state fair, cream puff picture! Fun to catch up on all that you've been up to!
I love the "rough and tumble girls!" Honestly, I think it's the emotions and drama that girls often bring that's worse than any bumps or bruises. I still can't believe my parents put up with 5 girls in a row! Yikes! I hope Anna heals up nicely and that you have a big long boring stretch with no injuries or bodily harm:-)
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