It's just after 7AM....
It's just after 7 AM as I write this. I've had 5 or 6 hours of sleep.
Yesterday, Halloween, went true to form at the lovely Chateau CycleDog. Holidays usually involve one of two things: plumbing disasters or personal injury. Halloween was no exception.
We saw the last of the neighborhood kid's at the front door sometime before 9 PM. Mary ran a tub full of hot water, wrapped her hair in a towel, and prepared to take what we call "Mom's vacation" - a long, hot, steamy tub bath. Both of our kids were off at parties with friends. I sat on the couch splitting my attention between television and this laptop.
At 9:45, the phone rang. Sometimes, as I go to answer it, I have that fleeting idea that it may bring bad news. That thought bounced through my head last night.
"Dad," Jordan said, "Can you meet me at the hospital?"
He broke a finger playing touch football about three weeks ago. He was afraid he'd broken it again. I told him that I'd be on my way in a few minutes.
A broken finger certainly isn't life threatening, but it can be very painful due to all those nerves. I've broken one in a car door and another while cheating in a relay race.
I went into the bathroom to tell Mom that I was leaving for the hospital. She was up and out of that tub like a Polaris missile launched from a submarine, absent the towel on top and all the bubbles, of course.
We were at the hospital a little after 10PM. Jordan stood at the ER entrance shuffling back and forth in obvious pain. We went inside, did all the usual paperwork, etc. They x-rayed his fingers and announced that in addition to the original break, he'd managed to sprain it as well. They relieved us of the co-pay, and a few minutes after midnight, we were on our way home.
The next holiday is Thanksgiving. I'm considering putting the family inside individually bubble-wrapped coccoons and turning off the water at the street side connector. Then I'll sit in the dark with a flashlight in hand while wearing my bicycle helmet. You can never be too careful.
Yesterday, Halloween, went true to form at the lovely Chateau CycleDog. Holidays usually involve one of two things: plumbing disasters or personal injury. Halloween was no exception.
We saw the last of the neighborhood kid's at the front door sometime before 9 PM. Mary ran a tub full of hot water, wrapped her hair in a towel, and prepared to take what we call "Mom's vacation" - a long, hot, steamy tub bath. Both of our kids were off at parties with friends. I sat on the couch splitting my attention between television and this laptop.
At 9:45, the phone rang. Sometimes, as I go to answer it, I have that fleeting idea that it may bring bad news. That thought bounced through my head last night.
"Dad," Jordan said, "Can you meet me at the hospital?"
He broke a finger playing touch football about three weeks ago. He was afraid he'd broken it again. I told him that I'd be on my way in a few minutes.
A broken finger certainly isn't life threatening, but it can be very painful due to all those nerves. I've broken one in a car door and another while cheating in a relay race.
I went into the bathroom to tell Mom that I was leaving for the hospital. She was up and out of that tub like a Polaris missile launched from a submarine, absent the towel on top and all the bubbles, of course.
We were at the hospital a little after 10PM. Jordan stood at the ER entrance shuffling back and forth in obvious pain. We went inside, did all the usual paperwork, etc. They x-rayed his fingers and announced that in addition to the original break, he'd managed to sprain it as well. They relieved us of the co-pay, and a few minutes after midnight, we were on our way home.
The next holiday is Thanksgiving. I'm considering putting the family inside individually bubble-wrapped coccoons and turning off the water at the street side connector. Then I'll sit in the dark with a flashlight in hand while wearing my bicycle helmet. You can never be too careful.
posted by Ed W at 7:24 AM
2 Comments:
I'm glad your kid's relatively okay.
I remember my "I got hit by a car and I'm at the hospital" phone call to my dad as a teen and he completely freaked out. Of course I was obviously fine since I was talking to him on the phone, but I can imagine my reaction now might be similar if my children called with similar news.
"Relatively" OK, is hitting it on the head, Fritz. He's a teenager, after all, and neither common sense or the laws of physics have any real impression on him.
But I was 18 once upon a time - back in the Pleistocene, I think - and I wasn't any different.
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