Based on Actual Events

One does not assume that a child at the tender age of 4 years old would be a regular at the local ER, but I was not your normal 4 year old. Three trips to the emergency room in one year, that might be a record!

The following 'memories' have become somewhat like tall tales in my mind, since I don't actually have full and complete memories of any of the following events. The stories have been told in my family multiple times and in evolving variations. Therefore, I've created movies of the events in my vivid imagination. Full color and everything.

Since I don't know in which order my life threatening would-be miracles happened, I'll just start with the messiest.

The Bottle
My brother, Don, was playing with his friend Mike Brat (seriously, the kids last name was Brat) and another boy in the neighborhood wanted to play with them. They did not want to play with this kid, I don't remember his name so let's just call him Bob. They sent Bob away to follow his own path in this world. Kids can be so cruel.

Meanwhile, little sister Emmy Lou (that's me in case you're a bit slow today) is playing with the next door neighbors new puppies under the swing set behind our house. There was a big field right behind our house with waist high grass. It might be knee high grass now, but I was short then. I look to my right and see Bob meandering aimlessly through the tall grass. He is not walking in a straight line, but moving side to side like he's kicking something. I decide the puppies are funner than some kid even my brother didn't want to play with and focus my 4 year old attention back on them. (Yes I know funner is not a word, this is my story not yours.)

WHAM!!

Blinding, concussive pain! I fall over onto my side. What happened!? I sit up and try to look at the puppies. They are turning red. Drops of red are falling all over them. I stand up and walk towards my sister Andi and her friend Sonya playing in the sandbox nearby. As I get closer, Andi starts screaming. Why is she screaming like that? She runs towards me and screams more. I do not know what is going on, but her screaming scares me more than anything, so I start screaming. Grabbing my hand she runs towards the house, dragging me along frightened and bewildered. Running into the house, my mother has heard the commotion and meets us at the door. More screaming and general franticness.

Up to this point, I still do not know what is going on. I finally look down. I am covered in bright red blood! The entire right side of my body seems to be soaked in my warm lifejuice. Yikes! This is the last actual memory I have of the event. In my minds eye, I can very clearly look down and see the blood on my clothes. I'm sure I lost it at this point.

Mom slaps a towel on the side of my profusely bleeding head. Here's the thing about head wounds, they bleed incessantly. It is very difficult to stem the bleeding, especially from a large head wound, as this would appear to be. The blood mixed with my hair, matting it to the side of my head. My mother believed I had cut my ear off. Holy Smokes is that what happened?!

She slowly pulls the towel away, and a flap of my scalp sticks to it. Yum. I would bet that the bleeding is pretty heightened at this point. Mom wraps me in a blanket, so I do not lose my mind staring at my own blood, and runs outside - screaming sister in tow. She runs around the front of the house to where the car should be in the driveway. (Did you notice the "should be"? That's called foreshadowing!) And what does she find? Absolutely nothing. There is no car! My dad conveniently had the car that day. Well I guess it was convenient for him, not for us. Everything really does matter on point of view and circumstance doesn't it? But I digress.

Supermom sees a little old lady neighbor in her driveway a few houses away (I think this is the same lady who's window I broke with a rock, or maybe it was a baseball. Mom forced me to go to her front door all by myself and say I was sorry. I was mad then, but I guess she helped save my life so I should have been a bit nicer. And now, back to our feature presentation...) So the little old lady is having a nice afternoon, maybe went to the store to get some tea and crumpets only to come home and find a motley, frantic woman (mom) carrying a blood soaked, inconsolable child (me) and a delirious screaming sister come running up to her begging to put said blood soaked child in her car. That would just ruin your afternoon wouldn't it?

Off the the ER we go. The little old lady gets us all there safely, and comes back to sit in our driveway. When my dad does come home with the convenient car, he sees this strange old woman in his driveway. She tells him 'They're at the emergency room, they're OK." Talk about throwing someone for a loop.

So here's what happened, Bob was kicking a broken Pepsi bottle through the field behind my house. He kicked it into the air and tagged me on the side of my skull, directly between my right ear and temple. A couple inches north and it would have hit my temple and could have killed me. A couple inches south, it would have hit my ear and disfigured me for life. Instead it hit solid bone and cut a clean triangle shaped slice through my scalp. I think I got 30-something stitches, but I could be exaggerating.
After the docs sewed me up and warned me not to play with jilted boys and broken bottles (a lesson that took years to learn) I made it back home. I now have a fancy triangle shaped scar on the side of my head. I'll be happy to show you, if you like.

My next memory of this experience was Bob coming to my house to apologizing for attempted murder. He brought me a very cool wooden Pinocchio puzzle and a card that said "I'm sorry. -Bob". Poignant and thought provoking, real wordsmith Bob was. I still have that Pinocchio puzzle and most of the pieces.

Moral of the story: Big brothers should be more careful who they play with, it's the little sisters who pay for it!

Gratitude

I'm grateful for sore muscles, because it means I am getting stronger.

I'm thankful for chocolate chip cookies and ice cold milk.

I love naps.

I'm glad my kitties love naps as much as I do, because they keep me company and give me an excuse to snooze.

I like to hear all the birds singing around our house.

I enjoy spring in the South.

I love to see popcorn popping on the trees here.

My imagination makes me smile.

I always hear something funny when I have no idea what someone just said.

Looking pictures of my friends and family is a great way to boost my spirits.

I love playing pool, and I'm getting marginally better.

I can read Shakespeare and laugh at the jokes.

I'm so glad my hubby is a good cook.

I enjoy a good pair of slacks.

Movie quotes make my day!

Living in Charlotte is pretty spiffy.

I learned a lot from Star Wars.

Silly jokes make me laugh like a little girl.

I love to feel the sun on my face.

Flowers smile at me.

I enjoy reading Jane Austen. I love her name also.

I really do want to become a writer.

I'm so excited about the Virgin Islands and my Cattle Drive!!

Quote for the Day

Empty pockets never

hold anyone back.

Only empty heads and

empty hearts can do that.

-Norman Vincent Peale

writer

Sushi Anyone?

We Could All Use More GOOD NEWS!

I found this great news website called GOOD NEWS NETWORK. I usually check Fox News every morning just to see what the headlines are, but they are so depressing it just brings me down. I went to Google and typed in Good News and this website is what I found.

THANK GOD!!

They only report Good News and I love to scan through the headline and realize that good things do happen in this world everyday, all around us. It has brightened my mornings and helped to have a better outlook on the day, every day. I hope you will check out the link and see what this awesome site is all about.

May I point out 1 story that rang close to my heart about a microcredit organization named Kiva. They allow regular people like you and me to participate in micro-loans to people who live in poverty around the world to help them start their own business and pull their families out of poverty. I have felt very drawn toward microcredit since I learned of it's existence through a program on the Church's relationship with the Grameen Foundation in India. Though I am unable to travel to India to work with a microcredit program in the field, I can still be a part of something much bigger than my little world.

Have a great day!

Playing in the Idaho Snow!

Mr. Snowman! Taa-Daah!

D can take on any snowman, big or small.

(Is that snowman winking at me? No, his eye just fell off.)

Attempting to sled down this hill. I still have a bruise on my butt!

My foot buried in 2 feet of powdery soft snow!

Perfect Snow Angel!

My Nephew is Cuter Than Yours!

Tristan Holden Stephens

My little nephew Tristan is 5 months old and I am so in love with him.

He has the most beautiful blue eyes and cute little elf ears!

"I only cry when Ugly people hold me"

He didn't cry with me at all. He laughed and played the whole time.

Tristan and Uncle Daymon

The two cutest men in my life!

T-Shirt of the Day

This is my 280th post. And I got a cookie today! ~Bonus~

Ultimate PEEP Show

Is this a Joke?!

Heels for all you sexy snorkeling ladies out there!

Make sure your gams look great as you bodysurf at the Pier!

Many colors to match all your wetsuits and bikinis!

Only $550!! What a Deal!!

*Walking is not possible on these 'shoes'.*

Don't even bother trying to walk in heels on the sand. Or in fins. Have you ever tried walking in fins? It's impossible. You don't walk, you flop. Now add a 4 inch 'do me' heel to your floppingness and Viola! The biggest idiot on the beach! Someone got paid to create these things.

*sigh*

Words that won't leave my mind

Eggshells are made to be broken from the inside out, so life can begin.

ouch

Quote for the Day

Love the moment

and the energy of that moment will spread

beyond all boundaries.

-Corita Kent

American muralist