I was to go Northeast, to
TLC’s casa, this past Monday. Stay with her, Little Leighton (aka Biscuit aka LL),
and Baby Elle until Wednesday. But last week—as early as Wednesday—the
Dallas/Ft. Worth Weather Peeps were telling us there could be BAD STUFF (not
their technical meteorological term, of course) that could occur Tuesday—(April 26th).
Since Baby Elle is a
teensy bit confused on nights and days, still, I told TLC Saturday morning I’d come give her and
Her Hubby (HH) help. I’d stay until Tuesday at noon —heading back before the BAD STUFF arrived in our
area.
Things went quite well for
this Grammy Nanny and Her Girls (and HH). Baby Elle decided to show off for me
and, for two nights in a row, slept for five straight hours! Heaven for TLC and
HH. (My room, as y’all may recall, is upstairs off of the playroom. I rarely
hear anything or anyone when I’m in bed. Which is, honestly, not bad. Winky. Wink.)
LL and I had lots o’ fun
(she’s my “major” duty—at this point). TLC and HH got a little work done. Got some
ZZZs. Life was good. Then... Yes, there is, sadly, a “then."
Late Tuesday morn, around 10:30 a.m. , after we’d (The Four of Us Gals) had a fabulous
morning, I was upstairs with Biscuit—getting my room and bathroom straightened and
cleaned and working with Biscuit on an “art project” for her Mom. LL and I
started down the (nineteen) stairs to show TLC her “surprise.” My arms/hands
were full of paraphernalia (I was trying not to have to make another trip
upstairs before I left for home.). LL was talking to her Mom—who was in the
kitchen:
LL: Close your eyes, Mama! Don’t peek! I have a BIG
surprise for you! Are your eyes closed?
This was being said as we were
both descending. Biscuit was in front of me. On the 5th stair, it
happened. I watched as LL literally missed said stair completely and went
tumbling down—fast! I started screaming. TLC started screaming (Info: You can
see half of their stairs through a wrought-iron banister. So TLC heard me
first—then saw LL as she got to the bannister area. LL stopped just as she got to
the bottom stair—which is wood (eighteen of the stairs are carpeted—Thank the
Lord Almighty…)—and before she hit the wood den floor.
TLC grabbed her up and ran
to their couch. All three of us were now loudly crying. (Baby Elle was in TLC’s
bedroom in her cradle—sleeping. She mostly slept through the trauma/drama.)
TLC forced herself to calm
down and asked LL:
“What hurts? Can you move
your neck? Toes? Fingers? Did you hit your head?”
We could both see LL’s
knees were red—from carpet burns. I told TLC I didn’t believe LL ever actually
hit her head. As she tumbled, she’d look at me—with eyes full of sheer terror
and like she wished she could holler: HELP
ME, GRAMMY. HELP ME.
We couldn’t feel any
bumps/knots on LL’s head. Her eyes weren’t dilated. She could move everything. She
finally quit crying.We didn’t think any bones were broken or that she had any
sprains. She stood up and walked a few steps. TLC went to Biscuit’s room and
got her Blankie (which was TLC’s!), Lovies, and special pillow. She set her up
on the couch in the den, in order to let her watch ANYTHING she wanted on the TV and to keep an eye on her for a couple of hours--minimum.
Biscuit's Lesson #724: Don't talk while descending stairs. Ever. EVER. Watch your feet and the steps. Until you safely reach the bottom. Period.
I had planned to run to
the grocery store for TLC for milk and a couple of other necessities before I left for my casa. We decided it’d be okay for me to go. The moment I got into my car, I called My Sweet Hubby (MSH) and blubbered
all the way to Albertson's. To this very second, I can’t get the scene out of my mind. It was
positively shocking/scary/terrible. I shiver when I see her horrified little brown eyes
looking up at me as she tumbled out of control.
When TLC was almost 3, I
stood by a trampoline she was on at a dear friend’s home. There were four
other kids jumping and I was worried someone was going to get hurt. I was
right. (It’s such a curse. Sigh.) It was TLC. She fell on her right ankle and
broke it. We were in the ER in twenty minutes. It was New Year’s Day afternoon.
I begged the doctor not to put her to sleep. He wanted to anesthetize her to
put on a cast. He agreed to not require that. So, as we waited in the Lobby, we
listened to tiny TLC scream—bloody murder—for about twenty minutes. Lots of tears
and guilt later, I was grateful she’d made it without anesthesia.
TLC wore a cast for five
weeks and didn’t have another accident until she was in second grade. On the
third day of that new school year, she broke her right arm—falling from the
monkey bars during recess. She wore that cast for five weeks, also. When it was removed, I vividly remember telling her: “You seem to be working your way up your
body. PLEASE STOP breaking bones.” Thankfully, she had no more. Broken bones,
that is.
Those experiences were
tough. But Tuesday? LL’s fall? Spine-tingling for me. I have tears in my eyes,
this afternoon, at what could have happened.
Biscuit continues to amaze
me. Tickle me. Make me smile! She loves to play “office.” Her Dad has a home
office and she’s watched him at work many, many times in her almost four years
on this Earth. Tuesday morning she was “working” at her kitchen desk when she
came over to me—three times—asking me to put a paper click on her “notes.”
She’s obsessed with paper clips. Just can’t figure out how to work them! God
love her adorable/precious/marvelous heart!
Hope y’all have had a
Wonderful Week—with no stumbles or tumbles! If you have, in fact, stumbled or
tumbled, I hope you got right back up and carried on…What else can we do?
Happy Friday Eve, Dear Friends…
