Well, yesterday was quite a day, let me tell you.
First, we woke up to snow and ice and it took Matt quite a while to scrape all the layers off of the van so that we could go to church. Sometime during that time, Matt received a phone call asking him if he could fill in to teach a class, as the regular teacher was sick. So, as he scraped, he thought through Mark chapter 10 so he could enlighten the adult Bible class he was now to teach.
We finally scrambled to get everyone out the door, already a little behind schedule. By the way, we also have a house guest, which did NOT add to the stress of the morning, but the information comes in handy for the next turn of events. So, we pile into the van and we’re two blocks down the road and Asa says suddenly, “Hey, where’s Justus?”
Yeah, you got it. We had left one of our kids at home. This was not one of our finer parenting moments.
Poor guy. He had been looking for his gloves. We said, “Get in the van.” We thought everyone got in the van. Our house guest was occupying what normally was his seat in the van, so nobody really recognized he was missing. We quickly turned around (as quickly as you can turn around on icy roads, that is). I ran into the house to an angry and sad little boy and hugged and hugged him and told him how sorry we were and that we thought he was with us and how brave he was and all those things a mother says when she leaves her child at home alone.
Justus forgave us and is okay by the way. He even laughed about it with us last night.
So, we got to church and of course since Matt was teaching the class and we were by this time 10 minutes late, we got to confess our parenting shortcomings with about 40 other parents. They got quite a kick out of our story. Glad we could provide some humor.
The next two hours were uneventful, which is saying a lot for getting four little boys to sit quietly and worship.
After church we turned the boys loose to play while we visited a while. Next thing you know, here comes Asa (our 10 year old) with blood all over his head and face. (You know how head wounds bleed.) He had slipped on the ice on the sidewalk and landed on his head. Once we got the worst of the blood washed off, we found that the source was a nice big gash on his eyebrow. He looked as white as a sheet and his stomach was woozy. (I looked and felt fairly the same.)
So, you can guess where we spent our Sunday afternoon. Apparently we weren’t the first to go to the ER because of the ice. We actually ran into some friends while we were there. Great place to deepen relationships, the ER.
Anyway, four stitches later, we were back home and all okay. Asa felt much better after the whole thing was over. Dreading it was far worse than going through it I think. Here’s our trooper. (uh, we left the bandaid on so you wouldn’t also feel woozy)
So, as you can see, our day wasn’t quite a relaxing one. We appreciate the reminders that the joy of parenting comes in many different forms (many, many different forms). We also appreciate knowing that when we fail or when tough things happen, we aren’t doing this parenting thing alone. Thank you God, we are not doing this alone.
When Matt was a little boy Dad left him behind on purpose once! He kinda deserved it (little stinker) and we didn’t go far away at all… just around the corner. But Mom sure was worried when she lost sight of him. I can only imagine how you felt. Thanks for sharing and I hope everyone heals quickly… body and soul. :)
Oh my goodness – what a day! I’m so glad Asa wasn’t hurt worse and that Justus was no worse for his “ordeal”. I’ll have to share with you (privately!) what Allan and I did this morning that would rival your Sunday parenting story. I better not put it out on the Internet, or I might have CPS coming to visit. Thanks for your honesty in sharing with us!
(Oh, and LOL at Randy’s comment! Matt was a stinker when he was a boy??) :-)
Matt’s not still a stinker? (I kid, ‘cuz I love.) Seriously, oh my! Thanks for sharing. Sounds like the kind of day that goes down in the family history books. “Remember the time when…”
Asa, I sure hope your face feels better now. If it helps any, your daddy took a few spills when he was a boy. He made 2 trips to Hospital Emergency for cuts on his face. Randy accidentally slammed a sliding door on Matt’s head because Matt thought he could keep up with his big brother. The other time he was running because his cousin was chasing him to tickle him and he tripped and hit his head on the corner of a square drawer pull. Both times he bled a lot because that’s what face cuts do. Ask him to show you his scars. This is what we grandparents call Matt’s “come upins”.
Justus, I was lost once, and got very scared, but then I found my family. At least you were at home and they came right back.
Oh, I have guilt… I saw them all playing on that great ice lake under the gutters(where my kid was also). When we left I thought, that looks like someone could go down, but I did not be the big mean church lady and tell them someone was going to crack there head open…. And there is nothing worse than an afternoon at the ER, except having your child bleeding at the head! SOOO SORRY
Kari reminded me that we left Erik at church one time. I think we only went half a block? I had forgotten it till Kari brought it up in connection with Justus’ day. I probably repressed it.