DJH's Journal

The first part of the weekend went well.

It was Sunday that caught us.  And threw us for a loop. A big loop.

Sunday AM is grandparent's morning time with the kids, so off they went, as usual, to overindulge in sugary things at a time that is certainly earlier than your dentist would recommend. K, who's 6 (and 3/4), had been somewhat annoying the previous night, as she had been at a friend's slumber party and made us pick her up at 1030PM when she decided she couldn't be without her mommy....which is fine, but not in character with her usual tempermant.

So when Grandma called us up, saying K had fallen and hurt her arm and wanted her mommy, we assumed she was continuing her recent whining, and Grandma offered to bring K home. At home, we couldn't tell if something was really wrong - her arm was bruised, and she said she couldn't move her hand, although it appeared to me that she could. We drove over to (the amazing) Dr. O's house, who felt it definitely needed at least an X-Ray, and, through some very lucky coincidence and an amazingly generous doctor, we ended up with an X-ray just 15 minutes later. 

(BTW, not sure if you've been X-ray'd recently, but did you know they now have full live video X-rays?? No more of the photographs that take hours to develop and put up on the light board...!)

Anyway, as it turned out, K had broken BOTH of the bones in her forearm, one a "greenstick" fracture that requires resetting in a hospital. Ouch. The great doc (Dr. Tom Grogan) calmed everyone down, put on a cast, and told us that it will have to be reset later this week. Ugh. 

Once the cast was on, her attitude improved, and the pain subsided. We went home, and she got to enjoy a day of movies and lounging...life could be worse. 

And then, at 830 as she and her brother were fading off to sleep, a significant earthquake hit - the first earthquake that the two of them have experienced since they were smart enough to perceive these kinds of things happening. My son thought his "bed was broken", which now means he thinks we need to buy him a new bed, and my daughter was just vaguely terrified and confused, so i needed to brush up on plate tectonics so I could try to explain what just happened.

And then, as I was writing this, a very good friend of mine called from the hospital, where he is dealing with some very scary shit. 

I'm hoping that bad news comes in 3's, and I've just received my 3rd - I know everyone involved will be ok, but these events remind us of our mortality and demand that we prioritize the important things in our lives. 

If there's a silver lining to any of these events, it's that my daughter has now become something of a rockstar in her school. There was a line - yes, an actual line - of 1st Graders waiting to sign her cast, open her doors for her, and generally stand anywhere near her. For a few days at least, she's a celebrity.

Thanks for listening to my rant...