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Thursday, April 14, 2016

The Window


The Window
Most Grandparents worry about their grandchildren.  They worry because they don’t think their children know what they are doing.  They don’t think their children know what they are doing because when grandparents were just parents, they didn’t know what they were doing.

We look back when our own little ones were in need of protection and we sometimes failed. 

My oldest, my daughter, should have been killed or seriously disfigured because of our…ok, my incompetence.

I was cleaning windows in the spring.  The dining room window was one of those sliding things that came out to be easily cleaned on both sides, and then replaced back in its track.  I had pulled this window out and cleaned both sides when the phone rang.  Instead of letting the phone ring and finish putting the window back in its track, I left it on the sill leaning slightly onto the window frame. 

While I went to the phone, a seven month old Mary Beth was crawling around the dining room, to be close no doubt to daddy.   The next thing I heard was a loud crash, the tinkling of glass and the screaming of a child.  Apparently a gust of wind had blown the window away from the frame and it tumbled down to the floor.

I ran into the dining room in a panic.  If I had just accidentally killed or severely cut my daughter, my wife was going to be really angry.  I found my scared and screaming daughter smack dab in the middle of the broken window, surrounded by shards of broken glass.

She was frightened, but uninjured, uncut, not a scratch.  I ran and picked her up shaking like the proverbial leaf.  The window was directly over Mary Beth when it was blown over.  It apparently hit a dining room chair directly on the top of its rail.  It shattered on the chair and the window frame came down surrounding my little girl but the glass shattered and fell also around but not on the crawling toddler.

They say God looks after drunks and little children.  On this day he was certainly watching at least one little child.

So, all you young parents, the reason your own parents don’t think you are capable of successfully raising a child is they know from experience that if you let your guard down for a second, stuff happens.  They fear you may not be competent, because they probably know the fact that you are alive to be a parent at all is a matter of their own dumb luck.  

20 comments:

  1. I am told kids bounce when dropped better than old people. When I think of some of the stupid accidents I had as a kid, it must be true.

    I'm glad everybody is alright.

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    1. I accidentally dropped my daughter on her head as an infant. She was OK, but I don't remember her bouncing!!

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  2. I had no idea how to be a mother, but I seemed to be doing okay. I loved my kids, they loved me, everyone was fed, clean and safe. My own mum did not approve my methods, according to her, tiny babies should be rocked to sleep several times a day, certainly after each feeding. Mine preferred to be on a blanket on the floor, gazing around. We weren't attached at the hip while they were growing through toddlerhood and childhood either.

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  3. To be honest, I cannot believe I survived childhood with all of the clumsy accidents that I had :)

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  4. Such a logical and likely thing to do with the glass... until viewed in retrospect. Your heart must have been pounding for a long time and your mind racing long afterward. So glad all was okay and your daughter is now able to make her own parenting booboos.

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  5. Yep, it only takes a few seconds for tragedy to happen. You were very lucky on this day. Yes you were.

    Have a fabulous day and weekend. ☺

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  6. Wow, that must have been scary! You're right, parenthood is just a crap shoot. The one advantage we had IMO over (most) young parents today is we had common sense. Today common sense is becoming more rare by the day. Still, I'm sure they'll somehow muddle through. :)

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  7. Yep; definitely God was watching over your daughter! Bet you never did that particular one again in parenting. I'm surprised a lot of kids actually make it to adulthood raised by some of us!

    betty

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  8. None of us know what we are doing, really. My #1 Son had three trips to the ER, two trips to the doctor for emergencies, and 8 calls to poison control by his 3rd birthday. That one climbed everything and got into everything and we even had to put a bell on his bedroom door to keep him from getting out of his crib in the middle of the night and wreaking havoc.

    How i went on to have more kids is a miracle, as well as his own survival.

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  9. We all bumble through. I'm now more protective of my Grands than I ever was with my own children. I don't let them out of my sight.

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  10. Wow. How scary!!!! Your lit'l one definitely had angels surrounding her that day - and today, I'm certain of that. - :) Wow... What a story Joe. So happy it had a happy ending!

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  11. I'm trying to think back to when our son was a toddler and imagining what my parents thought of our parenting. I don't recall much criticism. but back then my parents lived in a different state.

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  12. That story made a chill run up my arm.
    r

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  13. That was totally scary and could have been horrible. You are so right, it only takes a minute of inattention.

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  14. Holy Moses!!! So many miracles daily that keep our little ones safe.

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  15. I always say that with the first child, it's a lot of trial and error. That's why - if the firstborns survive - they grow up to be the leaders, the presidents, the more successful people. It's because we had to survive all the dangerous stuff that in turn made us the more successful of our siblings. Ha!

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  16. your fear is still very apparent all these years later...

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  17. That is a shocking tale. YOU cleaned the windows?

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  18. True! A very honest perspective that all of us seniors would do well to remember. Most of us did/do the very best we can at the time, and sometimes we fall way short and the guardian angels have to go into overtime. Most children have lived despite our shortcomings, thankfully!

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