Another Day, Another Scab

Today was one of those days Lehr and I both wished we could go back and do over again. I think we all have moments in our parenting that we wish we could rewind...since that's not an option, we just hope we learn enough to never repeat the same lapses in judgement.

It all started with the red car, which Maddux has loved riding in since the beginning of time. Seriously, she has been riding down the hill in that thing since she was about 5 months old. Always with a seat belt and always with a smile. Today was no different....until the crash.

Normally we let the kids ride down the hill in our driveway, where the end slopes up enough to stop them, or down the bottom of the hill, where the cul-de-sac grassy area slows and 'catches' them. One of our mistakes today was letting Maddux go towards the top of the hill, where the slope is greater. Another mistake was me jumping in front of the car to absorb the impact instead of trying to grab the handle to slow her. So Maddux rode down the hill, picking up tremendous speed, collided with Mommy, who was trying to stop her, and then flipped, skidding along the street for several yards after the flip. Much crying and blood. Much stomach-churning for Lehr and I. Much adrenaline all around. God was watching out for Maddux, because she had her seatbelt on, preventing her from leaving her seat upon impact. Secondly, when the car flipped, it A-framed due to the large handle, keeping her head from dragging along the street with the car. Her injuries came from the initial impact and were mostly superficial.

Thirty minutes of me rocking with her in her chair, blanket in tow, later, the accident was a fleeting memory. She was fine, she had no broken or sprained anything, and her face was on the mend.

The good news is, Maddie's age still puts her in the 'kid' classification, and as we all know, kids are resilient. However, I'm not going to force her back into the car anytime soon because if I can barely stomach the thought, I can only imagine how she feels. Eli is very concerned about her boo-boo...he checks it often.