Ouch!

On Friday I went to get Callie from school...and when she met me outside of her classroom, there was a huge bandage that covered her entire chin.

"What happened Callie?!"

She bashfully said, "I fell."

I know Callie gets embarrassed really easily and as much as she loves attention, I know there are times when she most certainly doesn't.  This, I knew, would be one of those times.  We started our walk home before I asked her what happened.  She had been playing at recess with some kids.  Tommy was being a zombie and was chasing after a few of them to eat their brains.  Naturally.  She tripped, fell, and scraped her chin on the cement.  She told me she cried and went over to the teacher, who helped clean off her hands and let her get a drink of water.  She chose Mattea as her buddy to go down to the nurse.

The nurse had told her that she could take the bandage off when she got home, and that's exactly what she did.  You can't tell in this picture, but her chin was so swollen.  It made me so sad.  Luckily I think it should heal up pretty well as the fall seemed to only take off the first layer of skin.  By now, it has scabbed up and I think it'll be ok.

My heart broke a little when she explained what happened.  I so badly wished I had been there for her.  When she gets hurt at home, she comes to me.  I hold her, sway back and forth, brush her hair to the side, and am with her until she's ready to move on.  I couldn't help but ask about every detail.  I wanted to know who was there, immediately, for her.  Did she have to find the teacher, or did she see it and come to her?  Was she sad?  Did she feel brave, or did it just hurt too much?  She handled it all like a champ...and that's a relief.  It really is.  I want her to be able to take care of herself, recognize who is available to help, etc.  But, I still wish I had been the one there to help her.  I think it's just one of those things that moms feel when their babies get older.

When she got home, I made her lunch but it hurt to eat.  Opening and closing her mouth hurt.  So, yep, she got a McDonald's vanilla shake.  Because the occasion called for it.  Then she played with her friend, AJ, and all was forgotten.