Boys

I fear my tender heart will not survive as I learn how to be a good mother to little boys.

Yesterday morning - 11:28 am - my phone rings. Caller ID declares "Childrens Center."

First thought - oh dear.

Me - Hello?

CDC - Ms. Long? Hi, this is Elizabeth from the Childrens Center. (pause - I hear faint whimpering/moaning in the background) Everything's fine - but Ms. Jennifer wants to talk to you.

Jenn - Kristen? James had an accident on the playground.

Me - An accident? Is he okay?

Jenn - Well, he's okay - but he hit his head on the corner of the picnic table, right near his eye. We've cleaned it and put ice on it, but it looks like it's swelling.

Me - Is he bleeding?

Jenn - No (long pause) just starting to swell, and you can see the red marks where he made impact.

Lovely.

Me - Okay, well does he need immediate medical attention? Do I need to take him to the ER or to his regular doctor or is he okay?

Jenn - I think he's okay (long pause) but I'm just not sure.

So I instructed them to give him some Tylenol, to keep ice on it, let him eat lunch, and call me if it looked any worse.

I got the second call about 20 minutes later - telling me it's really swelling and that I should probably come take a look at it.

So I drop everything - hustle over there - and yeah, it's pretty bad.

I took him home, then to his doctor, who (after laughing - because of the three - James is the one who is always banging himself up) says his cornea isn't scratched or damaged, and the blood shot eye on the side where the impact occurred isn't too concerning. Gave us a prescription for some antibiotic ointment to put around on the scratch - that is just beneath his lower eyelashes - and sent us on our way.

I'm actually proud of the way I handled the whole thing - with the first child, I was a complete nervous ninny - and had this happened five years ago, we'd probably have made a long and unnecessary trip to the ER.

Although, I'm sure it's just a matter of time before we end up there, given James' wide-open-nature to fully throw himself into whatever activity he happens to be engaged in.

Boys.