Friends,
Last weekend was a disaster and I'm thankful for it.
It was a typical "Pleasant Valley" Saturday in suburbia. I loaded the kids into the car, dropped my wife off at her part time job, made a dump-run, and went to my son's soccer practice.
My son joined his team in kicking a soccer ball back and forth under the blue autumn sky and I sat among the other parents. Leaning against a wooden fence post, I relaxed and watched the game. I basked in the sun and was keenly aware of a profound sense of peacefulness. A few feet behind me my 6 year-old daughter played with friends in the low hanging branches of an ancient oak tree.
I heard a CRACK, like a rifle shot, and felt the earth shudder with a thud. Turning, I saw my daughter rising to her feet screaming, "Daddy, I can't move my hand!"
In one frantic glance I saw the horrid angle of her arm and the stream of blood washing down her face. Samantha had fallen head first out of the tree, breaking her arm and smashing her face on the rocky ground.
Hours later in the emergency room, I had a chance to reflect and give thanks. The broken arm would heal and the deep cut on her eyebrow required no stitches. I am extraordinarily thankful. The arm could just as easily have been her neck or back. Had she hit the rock a quarter of an inch lower she would have lost an eye.
That evening Sam said, "Dad, I learned my lesson. I make a better kid than a squirrel." I learned a lesson also. Never take children or the tranquillity of the moment for granted. Both are precious and very fragile.
Until next time, give your kids an extra hug. Have a great and safe weekend!
October, 1997
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