Glancing up from the bed where I am playing with the Little Miss, I see My Man heading towards us. I think to myself, “Finally, I can put away the clothes piled on my chair.” It’s been a long day – the normally sweet-tempered Little Miss has been resisting her naptime and I am getting nothing done. I get up and turn my back when all of a sudden I hear him yell out “NO!”, followed by a sound that stops my heart cold.
My Little Miss is on the floor, wailing, SHE FELL OFF THE BED! We both rush to her but My Man gets to her first. My arms feel like lead, and I am horrified at what just happened. I am crying right along with my poor daughter while My Man tries to get her to calm down. I take her from him, and hug her to me, all the while whispering “I’m so sorry!” over and over and over again. She continues to weep and every one of her cries pierce my heart.
I tell him we should bring the Little Miss to the ER immediately, I am close to panicking, nearly hysterical. He rubs my arm and tells me to calm down and let him have a look at her.
We strip her of her clothing, and all the while I beat myself up inwardly with every sob that escapes her lips.
We feel her head for bumps.
Why did I turn my back to her?!
We check her for bruises and find a very faint one on her left cheek.
Why coudln’t I have just waited till later to put away the stupid clothes?!
I want to KICK myself. No, I seriously, seriously, want to turn back time, that’s what I want.
She stops crying after a while and I realize I’m still distressed – somehow, I am more shaken up by what just happened than she is. I look at My Man tearfully, and I tell him how sorry I am and that I didn’t mean to leave our Little Miss alone on the bed. He tells me he was headed for the bed, but changed his mind at the last minute and went to check on his email from updates from his client. He lets out a shaky sigh and I understand that he feels just as responsible for her fall as I do.
One lesson learned the hard way. I give her a tight hug and tell her again how sorry we are. We both look at her and she gives us a toothless grin and we know we are forgiven.
