Monday, December 16, 2013

A blank page. It is kind of like a child. You start with something pure and what is at the end is a direct result of what you put into it.

Lately I have not had time to fill my pages  with written word because I have been so focused on being the father that my children deserve.

Sorry for the lack of contribution to the conversation.

The Danger of Christmas Decorations

My kids are suddenly accident prone. My daughter looks like she was in a boxing match with Shawn Thornton and my son looks like he took a high stick from Brad Marchand. Yes I went there.

There is nothing like a little facial injury to make you realize how helpless you can sometimes be as a parent. We make all the moves we think necessary to protect our kids from danger and then boom one of them runs into the edge of the table and the other (or both) pulls a Christmas decoration down on their face and you come to the epiphany that you missed something and now your kids look as if you beat them with dowel rods.

Luckily no stitches were needed this week but there was a little blood shed and some small lacerations. They both have both of their eyes as well so there is a win.

My daughter is learning at a rapid pace and she has become clumsy in the process. Apparently there is a technical term that explains how children will get physically clumsy as they develop mentally due to some compensation (blah, blah, blah)... I don't know. I didn't read the study; just heard about it through my wife's, sisters's friend's cousin's brother or something like that.

Regardless, within a day of running into a table at my mother's she pulled a Christmas decoration down onto her face. Two eye injuries in 36 hours made me want to put a hockey helmet on her head with a full Itech face shield when she wakes up in the morning. No stitches, just a little blood and some black eyes. The girl literally looks like she was in a cage fight.

Not three hours after the Christmas decoration incident her big brother pulled the same move, splits the bridge of his nose open and it looked like he might have needed a stitch.

"He might need a stitch"

"You take him and Aria and I will stay here. We are not taking both of them. They will think we abuse our kids."

That response made me think.

We are good parents who protect our kids from physical and mental danger as much as we can. Sometimes kids are just kids and (expletive deleted) happens. The fact that the first thought I had was that the authorities would think we abuse them made me sad as much as I thought it was funny.

I would take it as an insult if someone ever questioned me regarding the treatment of my children. They are the center of our world and we do our best to make their lives the best they can be. If some stranger in a hospital wanted to question me due to a couple of cuts and bruises I would be livid but a part of me understands why they would have to question me about it.

It sucks that this world we live in today requires the need for people to be in a position that they have to question parents regarding minor child injuries. I couldn't fathom intentionally harming a child, especially my own but there are sick people out there that would do just that.

Without getting too involved in that sensitive subject I just wanted to take a moment to say Happy Holidays and remind you to watch the little ones around all the awesome Christmas decorations. Kids don't see danger. All they see is pretty sparkles and happy lights and they want to be a part of it.