I spent all day trying to figure out what I was going to write about for this weeks Fatherhood Friday. It took a splinter for me to figure it out.
What is it about injuries that makes them not hurt until you look at them?
I was vacuuming this afternooon and bent down in Squirt's(previously referred to as Number 2) doorway to move the power cord. My hand bumped into the door frame and I felt a slight stab. I looked and there was a small splinter sticking out of the woodwork. I pulled it off and threw it away. About 5 minutes later I looked and saw the end of said splinter sticking out of my finger. All of a sudden it started to hurt. I pulled it out and all was fine, but it made me wonder. Why don't these things bother us until we notice them?
Even worse, when I was working on my final portfolio for Art School 11 years ago(yeah, I'm getting old...) I cut off the tip of my pinky finger. Exacto's are so sharp that I didn't even notice, until I looked down and saw the finger tip on the edge of my ruler...once again..HOLY $#!& sudden pain!!
What does this have to do with fatherhood you may ask? For starters I need to teach my children to not be so clumsy with sharp objects...but it reminded me of when we first moved into this house and Number 1 was only 2 and a half. He LOVED running up and down our sloped driveway and we kept warning him that if he wasn't careful he was gonna fall. Which he eventually did, on a day that I was home alone with him(this was pre stay at home dad days).
I kept myself pretty calm I mean seriously, it was just a bump and some scrapes, but it would totally freak him out to see the small amount of blood that was on his face. I took him in to his bathroom and started to clean him up. I kept telling him to look at me so that I could see what I was doing, but it was mostly to keep him from looking into the ginormous 4x6 mirror that he was sitting in front of. All of my instruction was for not however. He turned and saw the scrapes..."I'M BLEEEEEDIIIINNNGGG" started the sobs and tears. Why is it that our injuries don't hurt until we look at them?
It was a this point that I insisted on having our first aid products in the downstairs bath...much smaller mirror.
Have a great(and pain free) weekend.
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7 comments:
I agree with you 100%. My 2 youngest kids fall all the time and if you ignore it they get up and brush themselves right off but if you look at them the tears flows immediately. Not sure why maybe they just want you to hold and sooth them. Check out my FF post at http://www.pbandsmellysdad.com/2009/04/my-ramblings-of-week.html
I've had injuries that are a nuisance until I give my attention to them, then they full-on HURT! This could be a lesson in life: whatever you give your attention to is going to take up space in your mind. If it's a bad thing, then you'll be depressed all the time, if it's a good thing, then you'll be happy! Does that make sense? It's 6am, maybe I should go lie back down... ;)
When my son bumps his head or gets a scratch, I totally down play it. If he falls, I tell him it's ok, everyone trips. His grandmother comes running to pick him up and say "OH My, are you alright?".."oh my little baby". My son at that point is screaming. But with me and my partner, we remain calm and still give him some control over the matter.
You are cracking me up! I am going to make fun of you and all Dad's here, in a very unfair way. This is a phenomenon among Dad's and kids. They are fine until they notice the injury and then freak. Cut a mom's right arm off and she with throw on a tourniquet until dinner is finished. Then she will seek medical attention. I've broken my jaw (tripping on a baby gate and taking a desk corner to the face) and said to myself "hubby will be home soon, I'll take care of it then".
And day at home with kids where no one bleeds is a success in my book.
Oh, the constant kissing of the "owees" in this household!
Kudos!
The sight of blood does something to everyone. The first time my son hurst himself I will probably have to deal with 2 criers and neither of them will be me.
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