A Series of Unfortunate Circumstances.

I had a fantastic Mother’s Day yesterday.
I didn’t know that one mom could get so many cards!!  I have to have the sweetest three girls ever..  oh, and the “Ninja” that Merrill “got” for me.  (Or that I got for myself and told him that it was from him.  Thanks Merrill!!  Aren’t the smoothies and daiquiris yummy?)  See, great guy too!
We spent the morning much like any other Sunday morning, taking our time getting ready, herding girls to get their hair fixed, packing the church bag, counting fruit snacks..  practicing to sing in sacrament meeting..  you know, the “usual”.  Yes, the usual indeed, peppered with cards and a few more hugs, kisses, and “I love yous” than usual. 
After church, we had a family get together for mother’s day.  It was originally to be held at my brother-in-law’s house, but due to rain, was moved to my mother and father-in-law’s house. 
(First and second unfortunate circumstances.)
The plan was to eat, and visit for just a bit, so we could make it to my mom and dad’s house, and get the kiddos home in time for a bedtime that wouldn’t be offensive to our Monday.
We arrived to find that the grill wasn’t getting hot enough to cook the food to a consumable point, so dinner was a little later than initially planned.
(Third unfortunate circumstance.)
The food was finally ready, and people began eating in stages.  We started with small children, they are the most vocal about eating, and moved forward.  By the time the adults were eating, the kids were done and off playing.
During the clean-up process, just as we were readying ourselves to leave, a cry came up from the basement.  It was attached to Peyton.  Being offended, somehow, and not having had her Sunday nap, she was tired and I was trying to console her.  Then a second cry started in the basement.  It was Ashley.
It wasn’t good either. 
It was a cry with a reason behind it.
While trying to befriend a bowling ball, save it from getting knocked around at the opening of the ball return by another arriving bowling ball, that other ball came to make her hand the meat in their bowling ball sandwich.  Little Ashley’s hand didn’t look so good.

(Okay, so the pictures suck..  they were with my phone.  Yes, suck indeed.  Just imagine a skin bubble filled with a quarter cup of blood on the back of her hand, okay?)
The whole back side was puffy, half of it a bubble of tender skin.  Ice was applied and we took off.
Merrill and the girls went home and Ash and I went to the E.R. 
She was afraid.  Her fears were expressed as I was putting ice on it at grandpa and grandma’s.
“I don’t want to die!!!”
She really didn’t want to go to the hospital, and she told me why today.
“I thought they were going to cut my hand open with scissors.”  That little explanation was followed by a shudder.  Albeit a cute shudder.
On the short drive to the hospital, I called my mom to wish her a happy mother’s day, and to tell her why she wouldn’t see us that day, give her a big, fat I.O.U. and to tell her I loved her.  I think that in that moment, prayers were sent up from all around.
I know there was a non-stop prayer in my heart, silently uttered in my mind, repeatedly.  Lynn told me that when they got inside the house, they prayed, Peyton told me that she said a prayer too.  I have no doubt, that there were many prayers offered on behalf of my little girl. 
We said a prayer too, right before we went into the emergency room.  And I mean, talk about flashbacks!!  That was where we entered the hospital the morning we had her.  Right above the entrance was where the helicopter landing pad is, right below where our room was while I recovered after she was born.  Just another day for this mom.  That hospital holds so many memories..
She was more calm as she saw just how many kind people were there to help her. 
I can tell you that I was asked seven times (no exaggeration) if I was her mother.  Seven times by seven different people.  I was tempted to show the last couple of those askers my c-section scar to prove it. 
 
(She cheered-up pretty quickly.)
We played “I spy” to kill time (she loved that turn-of-phrase), and I told her all the stories I could think of that were hospital related. 
The doctor there was a good guy.  He talked about all things “Tangled” to her while he took care of her.  His initial assessment was a broken blood vessel, what with the bubble on the back of her hand..  but ordered X-rays to be sure.  As he left the room that first time, he asked her if she had any questions for him.  She just shook her head.  He said, “Not even about what I like to do when I don’t have to work?  How rude!”  That got a giggle.
Then the radiologist came, asked Ashley a few questions, asked me if I was her mother, and asked if we were really bowling at grandpa and grandma’s.  (“Who has a bowling alley in their house?!”)  Then she asked if Ashley wanted a ride down to the radiology room.  I think that was her favorite part of the whole visit, being wheeled around in that wheel chair.
(I must also note that I was trying to not be the over-excited mom, taking pictures of the whole process..  but my, but she was so darn cute in that chair!!)
I am not a radiologist by any means (but I have seen a few X-rays in my time…  thank you Peyton.), but hers looked normal to me.  I was hopeful…
They looked “normal” to our doctor as well, but he was still concerned about her mobility.  She couldn’t manipulate her hand in some of the ways that she needed to, the swelling was an factor in that, sure, but he was concerned about her age and the development of her bones, things he might not be able to see that second.
He decided to splint her, immobilize the hand so the bleeding would stop, and if there were any breaks they could begin to set.
As he started fitting her with her splint, she asked him, “Does a force field come with this?”  Totally caught him off guard and their silly exchange only continued.  He was a nice guy.
So at the end of our day, as we were finally leaving that place, Ashley tells me, “It was the worst and the best Mother’s Day ever.”
“How was it the worst?”
(Like I didn’t know.)
“Well, I hurt my hand.”
“How was it the best?”
“I got to spend lots of time with just me and you.”
So as I look back, sure, it was a series of unfortunate circumstances (much like in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”.  LOVE that movie…) and if one thing had been different, maybe this wouldn’t have happened to our little Ash.  You know, the bowling ball sandwich stuff and the following events.
Had it not been raining, we would have been outside, at a different house, one that doesn’t have a bowling lane in the basement with an over-excited ball return.
Had the grill been hot enough, maybe we all would have been eating together.
Had we all eaten together, maybe they wouldn’t have run off to play, or needed to go by the exciting bowling lane and over-excited ball return.
If we had been able to eat earlier, maybe we would have been gone, to the other grandma’s house.
If any one of those things had been different, maybe, just maybe, Ashley’s little hand wouldn’t have been there trying to move a bowling ball.
See, what if.  Maybe.
But if things had gone that way, then Mother’s Day 2011 would have been just another Mother’s Day.  It wouldn’t have been the best and the worst and Ash and I wouldn’t have been able to spend time as just us.