E.R. - and I'm not talking about the T.V. show

Our day was going so normally. We took the kids sledding, out for a walk and read lots of books. We were scheduled to have dinner with friends so I went to take a shower and Colin was in the living room with the kids. Moments after I stepped out of the shower I heard a kind of wail from Keenan that instantly put me on red alert because it was not your run of the mill cry, it was 'I just really got hurt' cry. As I flew into the room, Colin had already scooped Keenan up and said something like "oh boy" quickly followed by "get some ice". Copious amounts of blood were flowing from a deep cut next to Keenan's right eye. One trip to the E.R. and three stitches later and Keenan is smiling again. As for us, our nerves are really frayed (especially poor Colin's-since he had to help immobilize Keenan while he was being stitched). We still aren't entirely sure what Keenan cut himself on but it appears he fell against the window ledge.

I finally understand what my Mom used to say to me when I got hurt. She would say "I would do anything to take away your pain, I wish it was me instead of you." She had plenty of opportunities to say this to me because I was an accident prone kid. Several broken toes, a broken back, a nearly severed finger tip, several concussions (Colin says that explains a lot) and a shattered jaw just to name a few. Most of my injuries were horse related and my poor Mom witnessed the incident that led to my broken back. At any rate, over the years, she repeated this "I wish it were me instead of you" like a mantra and I would shake my head and think she was being silly and, quite frankly, a little over dramatic. I was wrong.

Seeing your child hurt or in pain is heart wrenching. I would have quite happily traded places with Keenan tonight. It is funny the things you have to experience for yourself to truly understand your parents.

I would like to believe that we won't be as well acquainted with the E.R. staff as my parents were while I was growing up. But I suspect that we will frequent it more than we like. I just hope and pray the visits are for relatively minor things. Although I have to say that while Keenan's cut was rather minor in the grand scheme of things, it sure didn't feel that way tonight.