I grew up with a mom who poured hydrogen peroxide (or Fizz, as she liked to call it due to its rabies like response to air and GERMS) on EVERYTHING that looked hurt. That was after she scrubbed it until it bled good and long. Blood washed the germs out too. As we got older, she'd come at our scratches and cuts with a clean toothbrush and a choice. Either we could scrub it or she would. She'd be the one to "Fizz" it after the dirt exorcism for complete absolution.
It was only a matter of time before it was revealed whether I would take after her or grow bacterial colonies between my toes for fun.Enter the catalyst of parenthood.
Espen is learning how to walk. Most of the time he is very well planted before he makes a move. Occasionally, the call of upright mobility overwhelms his need for stability.
In fair dining room is where we lay our scene. Espen crawls to mum and tugs at trouser leg. Mum crouches down to give Wesp a hand. He scrambles to his feet rapidly, proud, beaming at mum. His legs wobble and collapse as mum reaches to stabilize him. There is no need. He has arrested his fall with his teeth. Punched clean through his lower lip.
Now the baby is languishing in waves of woe, blood filling his wee mouth and dribbling down his chin. He is still proud, but shaken. Mum recalls The Incident Of The Cut Finger and all the drama that resulted from attempting to sanitize and bandage the baby without physical -containment of any kind . She grabs dad instead and makes him hold the baby while she presses a towel to The Bear's lip. Espen finds this capital fun. Blood everywhere. Cleanliness dubious at best. Scars imminent. All is joyful.
Only the first one of many :). Get used to it. I found the secret is to not make a big deal of the blood and hurt, just clean it up with a look of serenity on your face like it was an expected thing. My sons managed to: get a concussion from falling off a pogo stick; appendicitis; slobbered into an extension that was still plugged into the wall and burning his lips (at least he didn't stick the entire plug in his mouth and he was only 18 months old at the time); trying to be a smart ass with spinning a butcher knife on one hand and cutting a 2 inch slice into his hip THROUGH his corduroy shorts and underwear, and that was just John :). Jeremy managed to escape childhood with a few bruises and scrapes, but got a split eyelid when John fired a penny with a wrist rocket sling. James saved his major hurts for adulthood: torn ACL, meniscus of a 60 year old, took 20 stitches in the eyebrow from a fall at Embarcadero, broke his arm in two places and just as he was healed up, broke it again -- all from skateboarding). His mishap as a kid was when John held down his hand and replicated the scene from Aliens with the knife, and nailed James in the area between the thumb and first finger with a steak knife. Welcomce to boyhood :D.
ReplyDeleteI find that the lower lip scar is a badge of childhood survival. Glad to hear he's on his finally on his way. We couldn't have a little sprite waddling around in foam armor now could we?
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