I watched and listened to the kids in the back yard Sunday morning. And they were playing quite harmoniously. It's not typically the case and it was a very welcome change. I thought to myself that, perhaps, they were maturing a bit and getting beyong the usual fighting and control struggles that come from being strong willed. I also briefly thought to myself that as nice as it was, someday there will be some situation where a scream is followed by one of the two if them running in to say that the other was hurt, and then there'd be some bloody face or twisted limb awaiting me.
I just didn't think today would be that day. I thought wrong.
I was just out of view of them from within the house when I heard my daughter start to scream. And it was one of those screams that signify real injury. As a parent, you learn the difference between a cry due to not getting something they want, struggling over possession of a toy or being honestly hurt. And this was an 'honestly hurt' scream. I came to find her lying face down on the pavement next to a kid-size picnic bench. I approached, fearful that a tooth of two would be dangling from her bleeding gums. She was intact and not cut, but she was still struggling to get up while crying hysterically that her brother had hurt her arm.
It turns out that as they were playing and she was atop the table holding the stringy branches of a Magnolia tree as vines and pretending to be a monkey, he thought it would be fun to pick up the large inflatable "sit and bounce on" handled ball and swing it about. He accidentally knocked her to the pavement. He knew immediately that he had hurt her and was immediately apologetic. But I needed to focus on her, so I told him to go inside.
I held her on my lap and got her to stop sobbing so heavily and tell me what had happened and what was hurting. It was her arm that hurt, and although she was able to move her fingers it was evident that there was something wrong because touching or slightly moving it, however so gently, caused her to cry out in pain.
I took her to the emergency room and she was a real trooper, but quite overwhelmed and pensive. After a few x-rays including one that caused her to wince and tear up in pain, they informed us there was a fracture on the inside of the elbow, and it'd need a cast. They put a temporary splint on, and the following day, she was sporting a pink cast from her wrist to above her elbow. She'll be wearing it for the next 4 weeks. Fortunately, it's waterproof, so the upcoming plans for a water slide at her 5th birthday party are not completely ruined.
As for the boy... well, he was incredibly sad and sorry about the whole thing. He's been caring and sympathetic and saying he's sorry repeatedly. There's no doubt that he's learned a valuable lesson here. So hopefully I can check this off the 'parent experience' list and move on.
When you see me next and notice the grey in the beard, factor this into the overall cause.