Here's One for the Baby Books (Or King Solomon)

Okay, so when I was pregnant with my second child, one of my major preoccupations was what I would do if both babies cried at once. Not many baby books covered that topic but probably because you figure it out quickly. Who needs you most. (Interestingly, when I was pregnant with my third child, the biggest concern to my then three year old son was how we would all fit into a bathroom. By all of us, he meant me, his potty training sister and the new baby. That all worked out too.) Yesterday I had one of those child rearing moments no book prepares you for. What do you do when two of your children come crashing into your house waving their arms and screaming like they are being chased by an axe murder? by a bear? by a flaming avalanche of shrapnel? Oh, and they are screaming, "We've been stung by bees! We've been stung!" And one of them has a stinger sticking out of his ear and the other one's back is swelling up before your eyes turning her into a slender nine year old female Quasimodo who is still screaming! Who to help first? There was no time for triage. I just picked a kid and started pulling out stingers and dispensing Benadryl.
So you would think our house was done with tears for the day after that. But no, a few more quiet ones trickled down the cheek of my ten year old son as he closed the last page on Where The Red Fern Grows. His brother and sister were fast asleep from the trauma of their day (and the Benadryl), but he lay up in bed reading until about 10:30. He couldn't believe that the dogs, Little Ann and Old Dan died.He didn't see it coming and it hit him hard. While I was sad for him, I was happy for him too. He will remember that book always and he's the kind of boy who can be moved by a powerful story. That makes for a wonderful life.