Five Things for Friday, 53rd Edition

I just about cut the end of my finger off the other day.

I was opening a can of beans for lunch and the can opener didn’t make a clean cut all the way around the can. I grabbed a fork and was trying to pry the lid back when my finger slipped and I sliced it. At first I wasn’t too worried. Then I took one look at it and realize how deep I cut it and  almost passed out. I am so grateful my friend was there because if she hadn’t taken care of me I am pretty sure I would have passed out and bled to death on the kitchen floor while my children watched in horror. As it was, she got me to lay down and bandaged up my finger in several layers of paper towels. She asked if I wanted to go get stitches for it, but that idea made me feel queasy all over again. Jon has always taken care of cuts in our family with super glue (it works!) and so I just kept telling her that I just needed super glue. Luckily my mother-in-law came over, took one look at the situation, and told me in her oh-so-sweet-but-very-convincing tone of voice that she thought I should go get stitches, and she would load my kids up right away.

My bandaged up finger, Jon says it looks like a finger puppet

To make a long story short I managed NOT to pass out at the doctor’s office (which was a feat) and I got four stitches in my finger. Can I just say that I am SO grateful that there are people in this world who have nerves of steel and can handle (and even enjoy) stitching people up. That sounds like my idea of Hell, but I am so grateful for the people who do it. Really, you are wonderful.

 My finger now looks like something from Frankenstein, and it hurts, but in about two weeks I should be able to get the stitches out.

 I don’t think I am going to open another can for the rest of my life, honestly. After this… only electric can openers for me!

So, can I tell you one of my best pass out stories?

Unfortunately I have quite a few to choose from.

When I was 14 I signed up to take a lifeguard training course at a community pool in a small Idaho town. The course was taught by the local fire chief, who also taught EMT (emergency medical training) classes as well. The course went great until our final exam. I passed the written exam, the water skills, and the CPR part of the class easily, but the first aid exam was a different story. The instructor figured that to give us a proper exam in first aid he needed to test how well we would respond in different situations. He put together a slide show with slides of people in various stages of injury. The idea was that we would go around the room and each person would get a slide and then they would have to explain what they would do to treat the injury. The pictures  started off simple– broken arms, blisters, cuts on the feet– but got increasingly worse. By the time it got to me the slides were of things like bullet exit wounds, a head that had been run over by a car,  and the legs of someone who had jumped out of a building and shattered everything from the knees down (when would a life guard ever see things like that, honestly!?)

I have always been a pansy when it comes to anything involving pain and blood and have a good track record of passing out. So, by the time the instructor got to me I was white as a sheet and the room was spinning. I took one look at my slide, told him I didn’t feel well, and slumped right out of my chair onto the floor.

When I came to I had a wet rag on my forehead and was surrounded by my classmates. I heard my instructors voice in the background saying, “ Here is a classic case of fainting, see how I… What would be the next step in stabilizing this patient?” Evidently, he was making the most of this real life teaching moment. I felt mortified, and even more so when people asked me if it had been planned. I guess that most of the class thought the instructor had me pass out on purpose just to test their skills. I adamantly refuted that it had NOT been planned and that I passed out on my very own, thank you very much!

Needless to say that was the end of our first aid test, and I know that I wasn’t the only one who was grateful for that!

Jon’s company recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, and instead of having a big dinner or a party they sent all of the employees on “adventures.” There were several different adventures to choose from but Jon and I opted for going snowmobiling through Yellowstone National Park. We went for three days with a big group of people from Jon’s work and it was such a fun weekend.  I grew up going to Yellowstone (my family has a cabin about 30 minutes away) but I had never been in the winter.

I just have to say that Yellowstone in the winter is incredible.

First off there was hardly anyone there. We watched Old Faithful go off with only 15 other people. In the summer time you watch it go off with close to 5,000 people or more. We felt like we had the park to ourselves, and I loved it.

Second of all, we got to snowmobile in. Which was 100 times better than driving it in a car and having to stop every five feet for a tourist who wants to take a picture of an elk. The snowmobiles were much better. Which, just so you know, only guided snowmobile or snowcoaches (imagine a bus on skis) are allowed in the park during the winter. Which is kind of a bummer, but it also makes for a very serene and peaceful park.

The one thing I will say is that Old Faithful is much, much better to watch in the summer time. In the winter there is so much steam from the hot water hitting the air that you can’t really see the geyser that well. It is still beautiful, but not as impressive as in the summer. 

Don’t worry Old Faithful hasn’t gone off yet in this picture, this was just its warming up stage!

So, I guess if you really want to have the full Yellowstone experience you have to go in the summer and in the winter!

Okay, cute moment.

I had just finished giving Abe a bath and put him in his PJs. Asher and Rose were now having a bath and I was in the kitchen making dinner. All of sudden I heard squeals coming from the bathroom and rushed into find that Abe had nosed dived into the bathtub…. diaper, PJS, and everything. The best part was that he was totally unphased by it. He just picked up a bath toy and made himself at home, and went on like being in the bathtub fully clothed was the most normal thing in the world. Asher, Rose and I laughed so hard we couldn’t see straight. It was really funny.

I have a bit of it on film but there are too many naked babies (and one not naked baby) for me to post it. But I am sure you get the idea. Definitely one of Abe’s funniest moments to date!

We are flying out to Iowa this week to look for a house. I am excited and terrified all at the same time. The hardest part is leaving my kids for five days. We said good by today and as I left I felt so sad. I am going to miss those kids so much!

Several years ago I remember a friend telling me how hard it was to go on vacation because she missed her kids too much. Inside I totally ridiculed her thinking, “Come on woman, you are with those kids 24/7 enjoy a break every once in a while, why don’t you!” But, like always, as soon as I judge someone else I do the exact same thing. I very much understand where that friend was coming from now, because I haven’t even been gone from my kids a whole day and I miss them like crazy.

Weird how they do that to you, huh?

 Have a wonderful weekend!

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