lesser tragedy

It's true what all the books say: when you get a call that something's happened to your kid, your heart really does jump right into your throat. Let me say here that Dennis is fine, which is what I wish David had said first on the phone. Instead I listened with growing horror to a story involving Dennis wanting to ride with Bob on a riding lawn mower and doing so and grabbing the steering wheel and running them into a tree (at which point I am hysterical). His thumb was scraped pretty bad by a tree branch and David told me some nausea-inducing details about a cuticle sticking way out and skin peeling. They went to the emergency room. Is it awful that I didn't go? Maybe, but I had stayed home today for a mental health break, a bit fragile from an extremely tough week. I knew Dennis was okay and in good hands, and I just didn't have it in me to listen to him scream as they cleaned his thumb injury at the ER. David handled it like a champ, and after they got home (Dennis had a new toy car in his possession and they were bearing his favorite pepperoni-and-sausage pizza), David spent hours playing with him in his room. Dennis ran to tell me all about crying at the hospital and how he stopped crying when he found out he didn't need a shot or stitches but then he had to cry again when they cleaned his thumb. He showed me his new car (Finn McMissle from Cars 2) and excitedly announced "we brought pizza! AND we're having SpongeBob macaroni and cheese for supper!". So yes, he's a bit injured, but he's had a completely awesome day. He's been cuddled and loved, and he's gotten serious one-on-one attention for hours. I did get to read to him, but when I tried to join the two of them during their movie watching, Dennis said "THAT'S IT! That is IT! You get out of my room now--it's Men's Night!". I did. He visited me later for goodnight cuddles and kisses (and then laughingly mooned me on his way out of our room after I insisted he go brush his teeth).

We had a scare, us parents. David was pretty shaken up when they got home. We are so blessed that everything turned out okay. The two of them turned it into a very special day of father-and-son bonding, which is so heartwarming for me to see! Thank you, Lord, for the way everything turned out today.