The other title of this post could be "Close Calls." Have you ever had something happen in your life that just made you terrified of what could have happened, but then also made you so grateful that it didn't? Like you catch your child about to walk into the busy road, or you almost get into a car crash? Or even something less dangerous like you forget a committment but remember just in time to get it done, or you almost say something to someone and then find out later that that would have been a horrible thing to say to them? It totally scares you, but at the same time makes you breathe a huge sigh of relief!We had a close call last night that could have ended in terrible injury or even death. It gives me chills even thinking about it, but here's what happened. My two-year-old (you knew this was going to be about him, didn't you? What is it about that age that they not only get into trouble so often, but also put their own lives in jeopardy on a regular basis?! It's enough to drive a mother crazy!) saw me put our griddle away (pancakes for dinner :0) and went to the drawer to get this item (pictured above). I didn't think anything of it, as he gets things out of my kitchen drawers all the time and walks away with them. You would think since I'm raising five boys, all of whom have gone through this lovely (aka destructive, dangerous but so cute) two-year-old phase, that I would look at every item in their grubbly little hands as a possible danger, but no...I let him go.
I was talking to my husband and for some reason after a few minutes followed my little guy to see what he was up to. Here's what I saw: he had plugged the cord end into one of the few sockets in our home not covered with a safety outlet cover (items specifically made for two-year-olds, I'm convinced), and was moving the other end (that spikey end plugs into the griddle, so is a live electrical point) towards his mouth. Aaaaaaaghhh!!! You can imagine the shriek that was emitted from my mouth as I swooped down, took the item from him and put it in its new home, one of my highest cabinets. During this, my little guy just looked at me with this blank stare as if to say, "what's the big deal, Mom?"
My husband watched my reaction, but hadn't seen the putting-the-live-element-into-the-mouth part, and when I told him, we both couldn't say anything but, "Wow. That was too close--can you imagine?" Yikes! I don't really want to imagine.
So today I am grateful that I'm sitting here typing this with my little guy standing behind me on my chair, messing up my hair and sticking his knees into my back, and not sitting in the hospital by the bedside of my unconscious and horribly burned and disfigured little guy.
Wow. What a blessing!
Have you had any close calls that made you grateful?
2 comments:
Oh, Anne! I'm sitting here typing with tears rolling down my safe. How thankful I am for Isaac's safety and your sensitivity to the Spirit telling you to follow your little boy. Wow.
Once, Todd and I came home from from the grocery store and found that our apartment smelled like smoke. We discovered that I had left an electric stove burner on "low" and carelessly tossed a dishtowel on the counter, but most of it had landed on the burner. The towel was ash, but how thankful I was that the apartment complex hadn't burned down.
For another incident, see Todd's sacrament talk on gratitude.
ps-- this is Jen
When our oldest was about 18 months I put him down for a nap on a Sunday afternoon and shut his door, as I always do. Then we parents went to go have a nap too. We slept for a couple of hours, and never heard a peep from our little guy (we had a nursery monitor in our room). I came out to our living room and as I rounded the corner I was dumbfounded to see out the window our toddler OUTSIDE playing in the full baby pool all by himself. I stood there with my mouth open. I could not figure out how this happened. His diaper was swollen so big from him playing in the water. I was so horrified. A quick examination of his room showed:
1. He had climbed out of his crib. First time for everything.
2. He had climbed up his changing table.
3. He had UNLATCHED the window.
4. He had crawled through a little tunnel that was under the stairs (we were in a basement apartment).
5. He had been playing in a private backyard for who knows how long.
6. AND, he did this all, quiet as a mouse.
I know he had angels watching over him that day. It could have had such a sad ending.
Close call for you, too.
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