Kids...

Ben is good: Emma came home from school early the Monday before Thanksgiving so I could keep an eye on her because she was breaking out in some sort of rashy/hivey business on her face and neck (how's that for a run-on sentence?). She was fine, a little Benadryl cleared her right up, though we never could determine the cause (this is not so unusual for her). Anyway, the point is Ben somehow heard from someone in her class that she had gone to the clinic and gone home. When he got home from school he rushed in to find us in the kitchen and his first anxious words were, "Emma, are you okay?" I could see on his face and hear in his tone his genuine concern. Before he took off his shoes, before he took off his backpack, he wanted to make sure there was nothing seriously wrong with her. How I love him.

Josh's finger is fine: Josh was coming down the back steps this past Monday when I heard him start screaming. Josh is a dramatic kid, he screams a lot. For one half of a second I did not pay any attention to the sound. The next half second it registered that this was one of those more intense, panicked screams. I ran to him to find that he somehow got his pinky finger stuck in the cord to the blinds that are right at the top of the stairs as he was coming down. He was sort of reclined on the steps with his arm stretched up to the cord, his pinky tightly bound. I imagined that he must have been going full force (as is his Joshee way) starting to come down the stairs when he was pulled up short by his ensnarement. He ended up with a little bit of a tear/cut and some swelling, but no permanent damage. Totally fine by the next day, and all in all really not that bad. But at the time it happened my mind instantly filled with every story I've ever heard about people who've lost fingers through freak accidents (mostly involving wedding rings: caught in machinery, caught on the rope you hold while skiing, caught on the basketball goal during a dunk, etc). I spent the rest of the evening wondering what I would have done if his finger had been ripped off (which I realize wasn't going to happen, but it could happen to someone someday, right?). Call 911 or head straight to hospital? Which hospital? Traffic? Why don't we live closer to a hospital?? Take all the kids or leave Emma in charge and call someone to go to the house while I'm driving? These are the worries that keep me up at night.

Lydia and Afton: are starting to play together. I love it. I can't wait for them to realize they're going to be best friends.