A rite of passage

Another milestone reached.  She’s officially a real kid.  Inducted into the exclusive club.  Lifetime membership, with one small price.

Saturday night while racing around with Dan and Wes, Jaia fell and hit her forehead on the fireplace hearth.  The cut was deep required stitches.  Off she and Dan went to the hospital, leaving the worried mama at home with the boy.

We’ve been to the hospital with Jaia only one other time, many moons ago.   That was much scarier.  But, as a parent, bringing your child to the hospital for any reason stirs up anxiety, even if you didn’t now it was there.

Dan tells me Jaia was a trooper.  She was laughing, making friends and genuinely enjoying everything about her time out alone with her dad, minus the bleeding gash in her forehead.

I think it helped that stitches have changed in the last 82 years when I had mine.  I cut my chin open on a car bumper while playing hide an seek.  There was no doubt I needed stitches, but instead of a topical cream to freeze the area like Jaia had, I got a needle.  And instead of pretty and almost painless (purple) glue, the doctor sewed my cut together with a needle and black thread.  Pretty.

So now she has a battle scar.  A story to tell all her friends.  Something she’ll carry with her always.  Something else that is all her own.  And so far, she’s proud.  I hope she stays that way.