Big Girls and Broken Bones

As I may have already told you, on Cameron's birthday party, we had a Fairy Tea Party for some of her friends. I decided that Tucker probably didn't need to be involved in this activity, so my Mom came and picked him up. He was happy to go to McDonald's for a Happy Meal with Grandma. While he was out there, however, my 17-year old brother, who is also the quarterback of the high school football team and Tucker's hero worship, was playing football with him. Apparantly, he forgot that Tucker was not part of the high school team because things got pretty rough. Rough to the point of my brother falling on Tucker's foot and hurting him pretty bad. He wouldn't walk on it at all. My Mom tried to get him to stop crying, but the trauma of it made him cry himself to sleep. Since he was able to sleep for two hours, my Mom thought it was probably going to be okay. My brother, on the other hand, sat and waited for the swelling to begin, because he knew how much impact had been in the fall. A few hours later, they brought him home, where he good naturedly crawled around on the floor avoiding all pressure on his foot. We decided to wait and see if it would be any better in the morning. I always thought a break would swell, turn black and blue, or do something to let you know that it was in fact broken. However, what is true in an adult bone is not true in a three year old. It never really swelled, it never really turned blue, it didn't do anything.

The next day really didn't show any change in it physically and Tucker still wasn't even walking at all. I made him an appointment to see the Orthopaedic Clinic in Boise, because quite honestly, they'd still be standing there scratching their head if I had taken him to Emmett. (Another joy of living in a small town.)

I really thought I was overreacting. When the doctor came in and told me it was broken in three places, I felt like the worst Mom in the world. They casted him and Tucker chose blue, so he was tickled to death. Luckily, little bones heal fast, so we only had to deal with the cast for three weeks. Here is a shot of the cast after three weeks of wear and tear.



And here is a picture of Tucker just milking it for all it's worth. He totally knows he's my boy. I think he'll be sad to not have so much attention now that it's off.

Me on the other hand, am relieved to get rid of the stinky boy foot smell that was beginning to smell a lot like a dead dog. It is IMPOSSIBLE to clean a three year old boy without being able to soak them in a warm and full bathtub. He was grubby between his toes, stinky all over the place, and just plain disgusting. Last night we came home and had a 45 minute soak in lots and lots of soap. And then we scrubbed him down like he'd been a orphan for his first three years. And my boy smells like a wet puppy again instead of a dead dog.

Oh, and the good Mom that I am, didn't know that Tucker had taken a screw and stuck it down in his cast. It was imbedded into the side of his leg. Can you imagine walking around in a cast with a screw in the side of your calf? I would have gone crazy! He didn't even make a fuss. Kids are way to resilient to things.

Other excitement in our week is that Cameron got to start kindergarten today. Here she is in her carefully planned Hello Kitty outfit and Disney Princess backpack. Not my choice of backpacks, for sure, but she thinks it is the coolest thing ever.




And I got a little teary eyed when I was taking these pictures because she's just growing up so fast. And as ready as I am for her to be in school, I couldn't help but be a little bittersweet about sending her there. Being a teacher myself, I had only walked those halls and considered the school through the perspective of a teacher. And today, when we were walking down the hall, I started to look around with the perspective of a parent. So many things could happen to my baby there, it's hard to just block it out and be positive, but that's what you have to do. Be positive and know that she's going to love it. And pray for her. I stood over her bed last night and just prayed that this was the beginning of something wonderful for her. It's amazing how much you just hope and dream for you kids. And then you kiss them good bye and before you know it, they're driving to high school and you don't get to come down the hall with them at all.


But for today, I have a five year old who is a little scared and a lot excited and I'll take that.