I currently have a black eye where Natalie threw her head back into my face while we were “cuddling” in my bed. And then yesterday I got a fat lip when my over-dramatic reading of Quiet and Loud startled Clark enough that he popped me in the mouth with the board book in his other hand.
Both events were followed by lots of “sorry, mommy” and me trying not to be anger-management poster-mom.
I saw that NBC is starting a new reality-competition show called America’s Toughest Jobs. I believe that they’re challenging people to do dangerous occupations like Alaskan crab fishing, trucking, bullfighting, logging, etc. I dare them to come spend a week in my house and see how long they last. In my opinion, you don’t have to do much more than roll out of your own bed (at 5 a.m.) to find America’s toughest job. Ouch.
What’s the biggest hit you’ve taken for motherhood?
(This entry was originally posted August 25, 2008. I’m trying to recreate my lost archives.)
Diapers and Divinity 
Once I was walking down a hard-to-describe slanted concrete formation at our student housing complex and slipped, and was very proud of myself that I kept the baby safely in my arms while I skinned my legs and fell on my behind.
On a more day-to-day level, I pay the price of living in an often very-messy home, and it’s sometimes pretty hard.
I once got a really fat lip when I went to kiss one of my kids goodnight in the dark and he sat up to give me one at the same time…smack, right on the kisser!
I love your blog…thanks for your words of wisdom and insight, they are far more valuable than a clean house anyday!
Before I even read Zina’s comment, I was going to tell you this one:
I was holding my 3 month old, wearing flip flops and walking up some concrete steps when I slipped and fell. I couldn’t catch myself without dropping the baby, so I held her as high as I could and let my knees take the fall. I ruined my favorite jeans, so bad that denim fibers were found in my scabs for weeks afterward, and I couldn’t walk well. But the baby only skinned her little toe.
Does labor and delivery count? Hahaha!
I was swinging at a play ground with my two year old on my lap when the seat suddenly plunged (the chain had been wrapped around the top bar and the top bar spun). I held the baby with one hand and held us both on the swing with just my wrist around the chain. I ended up with a NASTY bruise and goose-egg on that wrist.
My mother-in-law broke her foot from stepping on a Lego.
I’ve only been a mom for four years, I figure I’ve got plenty of injuries coming.
I’m assuming the black eye has gone away by now?
I haven’t so much been injured as I have done things that I NEVER would have done otherwise, things too gross for me to have even considered a natural part of motherhood. I’ve caught vomit in my hands and I have physically removed a blockage (think constipation) from a 7-year-old. My mind has blocked out all other incidents.
I’ve had a black eye recently too. My 2 year old was leaning over to look at something and as I leaned over to see it too, he bounced up to tell me about it. The pain was so excruciating that I collapsed on the floor and screamed for nearly 30 seconds straight. Then I just cried and cried. You’d think after childbirth I’d have a higher pain tolerance, but this exceeded my uppermost limit. The bruising lasted for 2 weeks. It was awful.
For me, the injury was to my credibility. Our oldest was 15 months old. He found a little frying pan in the drawer under the stove, and decided to “show” his father, who was lying on the floor watching television. The “show” was more of a “swing”, and it split my husband’s eyebrow open a good 1/2 inch. We called a sitter and I took my husband to the emergency room.
While the doctor was stitching him up, he asked, “How did you get hurt?” My husband replied that he had been hit in the head with a frying pan.
And everyone in the room gave me the most accusatory looks. It took me a couple of beats to figure out why they were all glaring at me, and no one seemed to be impresec by my assurances that it was our baby who had perpetrated the assault!
JUST TODAY my 18-month-old whacked me across the bridge of my nose with my own laptop by shoving it off my knees. I like to think it was an accident and not a reflection of his opinion on my blogging.
The only black eye I’ve ever had was in nursery, wrestling with a two-year-old demon, who DID NOT want to be separated from his mother. My own, sweet little darling daughters would never inflict permanent damage on their mother, especially since I’m so good at inflicting pain on myself without their help! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been on crutches over the last ten years!
Mercy. It seems like something happens daily. It’s all a blur of pain and agony for me right now. Happy Mother’s Day!
http://theextraordinaryordinary.blogspot.com/2008/10/moment-with-asher.html
I don’t know if you and I had blog-met when Asher smashed my nose? Anyway, in case you’re really bored, there’s the link 🙂
Happy Mother’s Day, friend.
I have permanent soft tissue damage to my right knee from Emma tripping me up while we were running. The doctor said it will always hurt “to let you know when you’ve done too much.” The good news? I get to use a pillow at prayer time without looking like a whuss.
Heal quickly!