Sometimes I Write

My heart began to pound as I pulled my hand away from his head.  I had assumed I was wiping sweat from his hot little head while I tried to calm his sobbing down.  But when I looked at my hand, it was covered with his blood.  In about .2 seconds I went from comforting mom to drill sergeant, barking orders at Max to run ahead and get me a clean washcloth and Zoe to get out of my way as I hurried Pete home to get a better look at the wound.  It was already dark out and the neighbor we were talking to over the chain link fence doesn’t have electricity.

I was in mid-sentence when I heard Pete scream and the little neighbor girl say, “I’m sorry Petey” in a trembling voice.  She had been swinging a dog chain around and caught the side of his head with the collar latch.  I thought he’d have a bruise and maybe a big bump, so I was unprepared for the blood that was gushing down the side of his head all over his shirt, my hand barely slowing the bleeding.  As we rushed home, Zoe kept getting in front of me begging, “I want to see it!  Let me see it!” until I finally yelled at her to shut up and stay out of the way.  (Harsh, I know, but I tripped over her twice and she was so loud that she wasn’t hearing me tell her we needed to move quickly.)  There was so much blood that I couldn’t tell where he was cut, so I stripped his clothes off as fast as I could and put him in the bathtub to run water over him and clean the area.  He screamed because it was too cold, then screamed louder when he saw the water turn red.  He cried and tried to get away from me and got that panicky look in his eyes when I forced him to sit still so I could see his head better.  He cried, “I don’t want to die!”  My heart caught in my throat as I told him he was fine but he needed to sit still for a minute.  Zoe watched our struggle and heard what Pete had yelled and ran crying to her room, worried her brother was going to die.  Then my cell phone began to ring in my pocket and it was Benny’s ringtone.  Max said, “Answer it Mommy!  It’s Popa!”  I yelled, “I can’t Max, I have blood all over my hands.  Answer it and tell him I’ll call him right back!”  Meanwhile Pete was still wailing in the tub while Zoe was freaking out in her room.  AAAAAGGGHHH  Calgon, Take me away!

When I finally got Pete to calm down and the bleeding to stop, I pulled the wash cloth away to see a VERY small cut.  I’m talking 1/2 centimeter at the most.  Wow.  4 year olds bleed a lot! I cleaned him up and we cuddled, so don’t worry…all is well now.  I called Benny back (he laughed at what Pete had said), the kids have had a snack, we read a chapter out of the library book we got today, everyone is tucked in, and we’re all breathing normally again.

Several years ago, Benny bought me a plaque that reads, “Motherhood..it’s not a just a job…it’s an adventure.”  NO KIDDING!!!  Now someone please run a bubble bath for me, and pass me a little blue drink – something coco-nutty – with a mini umbrella in it. 🙂