By Friday the swelling had gone down considerably and we decided to go on our Friday night date. We were on our way to Logan and then decided we'd just grab a bite to eat here in town instead and head back home to catch up on the smooching we'd been missing. Before our meal was even served we got a phone call from a nearly histerical Quincy to "Come quick!" Stilman and Walker had been riding home from soccer practice (so at least they were close to home) when Stilman popped a "wheelie" and his front bike tire fell off ("quick release" tire- the clamp of which had been messed with by who-knows-who, but most likely little sisters or neighbor kids just wondering what it was for.) and he hit the street face first. It took some time to get him cleaned up and dig all the gravel out of his cheek and neck, but we were grateful that, aside from lots of scrapes, some bruises and a few chunks of skin off here and there, he was in pretty good shape! It certainly could have been a lot worse. He was feeling pretty beat up of course and couldn't help wondering aloud, "Why does this stuff always happen to ME?" (-Honestly, I'm beginning to wonder that myself.)
As if that weren't enough to keep us busy for a while, Sunday night Tevya was playing outside without any shoes on (Which of course she's been warned about 746,893 times - if you include the 17 that particular day.) and stepped on something that hurt her really bad. Being the kind and compassionate mother that I am, I brushed her foot off, pulled something off that looked like it might have been a stinger, and said, "Well, I'm sorry, but that's what you get." She whined about it all night and I finally had Jeff look at it before she went to bed to make sure there wasn't something else in there like a sliver or something I'd missed in my haste to be so compassionate. Nothing.
But 1:00 a.m. she came flying down the stairs screaming her head off and I was up with her every hour for the rest of the night trying everything I could think of to make the pain stop. Next morning her foot was swollen so fat and was so red and she was SO miserable it was certain my instincts had been wrong. She wasn't just being dramatic after all. The doctor confirmed she's been stung -probably by some mean yellow jacket, had an allergic reaction, AND gotten an infection! She missed 2 days of school and we both missed a lot of sleep, but she's better after a bout of antibiotics, lots of Benadryl, and alternating doses of Tylenol and Ibuprofen for 3 days (and nights). Whew!
I could do without another week like this for a looooong time.
Oh my gosh, Kimi! What a week! Isn't it crazy that everything has to happen in batches like this? Was Stilman worried about going to school all torn up like that or was he thrilled to have battle scars? Poor guy. That sounds painful. We'll watch out for crazy bees and hornets. Sounds like they're out to get people this year--ugh.
ReplyDeleteStilman WAS worried about going to school especially because he went to church Sunday (in a white t-shirt and clip-on tie) and was about hoarse by the time it was over from telling and retelling the story so many times. I offered to make him a sign he could wear that just said "bike wreck" but he wasn't thrilled about that, nor did he like my idea of borrowing the intercom at the office first thing Monday morning to just make a general announcement. Hmmm. Go figure. (I think he actually ended up enjoying that the girls were so interested and wanted to kiss his owies.)
DeleteI'm impressed that Stilman let you take that picture -- at least he has muscles to show in it too :) I love reading your great stories. . . it helps me feel a little more normal for having so many of our own.
ReplyDeleteLove you Kimi! You are such a great mother -- I wish I could be a frequent fly on your wall.