Wednesday, July 18, 2007

For Joy, That Her Spirit May Be Cheered

Ross loves a thrill. Last year, he rode as many roller coasters as Disney World would let a mother sneak her not yet 48" thrill-seeking kid onto. Ahhh...but I'm not here to talk about our trip to Disney World (aka the trip that severely depleted my WME points). I'm here to tell you a story about the baby days of Ross.


Cute, wasn't he? He loved a thrill then, too. He would giggle wildly when we swung him around. If it had been a while (three minutes) since we'd given him a playful toss, he'd wave his little feet around or stick his arms up so we'd grab on and swing him. He didn't weigh very much, so it wasn't at all taxing and he loved it so much that he got swung around on the Mama Coaster quite often.

One fateful day, while visiting Chris' parents, as I swung Ross around by his ankles, I suddenly found myself holding nothing but pants. Ross, who'd been squealing with delight at the site of his upside-down self in the bathroom mirror a moment before, was squalling the surprised and angry cry of someone who'd just been dropped on his head on the tiled bathroom floor. Worse, my mother-in-law watched the whole thing.

In the brief second (eternity) it took for her to cross the room to us, I wondered if I'd ever be able to look her in the face again. I'd dropped her grandson on a tile floor! When she reached us, she gathered me into a strong hug. "Oh, honey," she said, "Are you ok?" Me? Am I ok? Baffled (and wondering if *she* was ok...) I told her I was fine (embarrassment aside) and pointed out that Ross was the one screaming on the floor. "Oh, he'll be fine - he'll never remember this, but YOU certainly will!" In the days after, Ross was often found in overalls.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Add 5 points to Karen for this one: the event obviously stunted his growth.

Chaotic Joy said...

Thanks for the injury support. That picture of ross digging into wrapping paper is about as cute as it gets!

Chaotic Joy said...

Oh, and can I say that my initial reaction to reading your post was "What a cool mother-in-law!"

The Plaid Sheep said...

This is rapidly becoming my most favorite blog.
As such, I propose that I provide a prize to the Mama with the most WMP points at the end of 6 months.
What do you think?

Anonymous said...

oh if the kids only knew! LOL...

Lady Epiphany said...

@Grandmoo: She loses at LEAST 5 WMPs for the Disney trip and sneaking him onto roller coasters...

@The Plaid Sheep: Thanks! We love prizes...we won't have to share it with our kids, right? ;)

karen said...

@plaid sheep: Prizes? I'm with Epiphany - we LOVE prizes! I think Epiphany gets a WMP for not wanting to share with her kids, but I will be disappointed if it turns out to be something that's supposed to be shared...

The Plaid Sheep said...

Absolutely not, no sharing. Worst Mamas Ever do not share.