Why did I choose this picture for Love Thursday? Scroll on down.
This picture of The Girl is my submission for Love Thursday at Shutter Sisters. I had planned on using a completely different photo. I spent about an hour today trying to get that picture just how I wanted it. I took my shots and planned on editing and choosing one to post after The Girl went to bed.
The kids had been running around like maniacs, loud balls of energy, ricocheting off of walls and furniture. They had been pushing limits and my sanity all day. Finally, the chaos had gotten intolerable and The Husband called for a stop to the antics. This didn’t sit well, of course, resulting in The Boy being sent to his room, and The Girl spewing a bit of nastiness. Now, The Girl has enough attitude in her little body to rival even a PMS’ing fifteen year old. She will say things in anger, without pausing to think, and then regret it almost immediately. She spends a lot of time trying to love on you and smooth over whatever it is she has done. Tonight was no exception. She had stormed off to her room, only to return a few minutes later with something clenched in her tiny fist. She crawled onto the ottoman, in front of the armchair I was sitting in, and stretched out her hand. A single penny sat in the center of her palm.
“Here,” was all she said, looking contrite.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Just…here….,” she crawled closer.
When she saw that I didn’t seem to be angry, she climbed over the ottoman and went to sit on the arm of the chair, which she had done many times before. But in her anxiousness to give me her gift, she reached her hand out to me before she had balanced herself properly on the arm, and tumbled backwards. I reached out for her in slow motion, but only managed to graze her leg. I leaned over the chair arm just in time to see her land squarely head first on our ceramic tile floor, and to hear the awful Crack! that accompanied it. Oh, that sound. I think it has to rank up there as one of the worst sounds I have ever heard. Ever. She hadn’t managed to break her fall at all, with her hands, elbows, shoulders, anything. Her little head hit the floor, and her body crumpled in a heap on top of it. There was a million years second of silence, and then she screamed. I scooped her up, while simultaneously assessing the damage and yelled for The Husband to get some ice.
“I am going to be sick!” she wailed between howls of pain and gasps for air.
We draped ourselves over the sink and The Husband joined in the melee with the ice. The howling subsided and we moved to her room to get her dressed. She kept telling us she would just feel better if she could go to sleep. On the car ride to the emergency room, she clutched a bowl on her lap, afraid to throw up in our car. She was willing to talk now, but her speech was a bit slurry. She again pleaded the her case about going to sleep.
The ER was very busy. The waiting room was stuffed full of hacking, wheezing, and crying bodies. My germ-phobic nightmare. We waited in that filthy petri dish of an ER for two hours. Two hours. By the time they got around to seeing us, The Girl was doing much better. Her stomach was mostly better, she wasn’t trying to fall asleep or mumbling. In fact, she was playing solitaire on The Husband’s cell phone, asking for a snack, and complaining about the dirty waiting room, and crappy customer service. That’s my girl. We were offered the option of a CAT scan, or to leave and observe her. Since she was doing so well, and was pretty resolute in her opinion that McDonald’s would make her feel better, we chose to observe. So, I am observing. Or will be in another 35 minutes when I go to wake her up again.
So The Girl is going to be fine. Although, it may take her dad and I a bit longer to recover.
As I sat down at my computer, waiting for my first waking, I went to the pictures I took for Love Thursday. In the middle of the twenty or so shots that I took trying to capture The Girl’s small hand with mine, I saw this one. It was a spontaneous moment. One I almost missed out on in my determination to get the shot I had in mind. What a loss that would have been, because it is my favorite shot out of the bunch. In fact, it is one of my favorites, period….and not only because I am tired, emotional, and covered in the germs of a hundred strangers. Well, okay, maybe a little, but for right now, this picture is love to me.
20 responses so far ↓
1 kristen // Jan 31, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Mel, it’s a beautiful shot. And isn’t it always true that the best picture in the bunch is the one taken with nearly no thought or planning, as almost an involuntary quiver of the shutter finger?
Sorry to hear about the fall–I would have been scared too–and the emergency room. Yikes. Hope it was a peaceful night and that your beautiful girl is feeling better today.
2 Dory // Jan 31, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Absolutely gorgeous portrait, Mel.
3 Mommyaulait // Jan 31, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Oh may the heavens smile upon you and your husband. And your sweet little girl. I know just what you went through and are going through.
The night before Thanksgiving my 18 month old got his first hair cut. He knew he looked good. He climbed up and sat in a chair and posed and smiled for my husband’s camera. 10 minutes later while running around the house he tripped landed on his arm wrong and screamed in a way that I had never heard from any of my children. I knew immediately something was terribly wrong. I went to the ER knowing it was broken but hoping it wasn’t. A little baby boy with a cast was so terribly sad to look at. Seeing him in pain wasn’t right. After they had his arm stabilized he was okay, but not me. That scream will always be in my head. Along with the picture of him before it happened….So proud of the way he looked. A little boy growing up but still so innocent….On the upside the cast they gave him, we chose black to go with a bunch of the punk rock, pirate, super hero shirts he had. He looked awesome. But I think we will have to start a savings account for his emergency room visits. This little boy seems very accident prone.
4 Ang // Jan 31, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Oh Mel, Im so sorry! Im glad she is doing better, how scary…and I think its the perfect Love Thursday picture! I will pray she is back to normal today!
5 Aimee Greeblemonkey // Jan 31, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Awwww, poor things.
But that photo is WONDERFUL. She is gorgeous, but really - a *beautiful* photo.
6 Stephanie // Jan 31, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I love the sassy, independent, “nobody messes with me” expression on her face. All girls should grow up with this and never lose it!
7 nikkipolani // Jan 31, 2008 at 3:58 pm
She is beautiful and I love the look in her eyes that you’ve captured. Hope she recovers well from the fall.
8 Chaely Chartier // Jan 31, 2008 at 5:47 pm
That picture is composed perfectly. The tight shot gives her an extra hint of “I’m a big girl” and the softness of the lighting makes her hair and skin glow like a little angel.
Your children are both stunning. Such expressive eyes & hilarious personalities. You and your husband do good work!!
9 Aunt Deborah // Jan 31, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Sweet girl, it will never change. Andrew is a married man - living basicly out on his own since he was 18 years old - 5 or is it 6 years now. Yet when he shattered his leg rock climbing and I raced to the ER, the moment I saw him. The moment the curtains were pulled - he was my baby. His eyes looking at me all drugged up. The minute I touched his skin on his arm when I said “Hi”. I wanted all the pain - I wanted to change places with him - I didn’t want him to hurt or have anything wrong. I wished I could have protected him from the experience. It will never change no matter how old they are. When TJ hit his head so hard on the pavement skateboarding at 19 - oh gosh 7 years ago - again racing to the hospital - pulling back the curtain - seeing my first born - the one who I first loved with a Mothers’ love - looking at me, vomiting and saying “Hi” in the same action. Hearing the doctor in my ear saying,”at least he recognizes you.” Touching his foot that hung out from the covers and lifting up a quick prayer. It will never change - you do have to step back and let the wives step into their place - but you stand in that corner wanting to hold them - wanting to bring them back home. It will never change.
10 AngelNicki // Jan 31, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Oh my God! I can just imagine that horrid sound. So glad she is OK. Little kids should wear helmets at all times.
Did she get McDonalds?
11 Rachael (mommyhood) // Feb 1, 2008 at 12:22 am
What a beautiful shot! I love the lighting… and you know, paired up with the story, it sort of screams for Love Thursdays, dontcha think? We moms… the throw-up, the ER visits (I think we know our MD’s by first name there), the snotty noses… THAT is truly some unconditional lovin.’
12 s'mee // Feb 1, 2008 at 1:56 am
She is adorable. Lovely, in fact. Beautiful shot.
Have a better night than your day. Tomorrow’s a new one.
13 joshnunn // Feb 1, 2008 at 2:38 am
I should have guessed you wouldn’t write about it if it had turned out badly, but boy you had my heart racing fast reading about it! Next time, put a warning up before you start - “No children were permanently harmed in the making of this blog post”.
14 Aileen // Feb 1, 2008 at 2:51 am
I love the attitude that comes through. Great shot!
Hope she’s feeling better soon.
15 The Sarah // Feb 1, 2008 at 8:40 am
So glad the future supermodel /karate-superhero is feeling better!
16 Kelley // Feb 1, 2008 at 9:04 am
Babe, what a horrifying experience.
Freaky too. Cause I spent 3 hours in the ER with Boo on THE SAME DAY!!!
He broke a bone in his foot and I spent the majority of the time trying to explain to the brain dead triage nurse what ‘doesn’t feel pain’ means.
They refused to check for head injuries because he wasn’t feeling pain there…. sigh.
Glad your baby girl is OK.
17 Steve // Feb 1, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Please, _please_, PLEASE don’t anybody EVER sit in an ER for any significant period of time with an unlooked-at head injury. Head injuries, especially those like you described, can be tricky bastards and all kinds of really ugly things can happen as a result, even after everything seems normal. Raise all kinds of holy hell if you have to, but get it looked at right effing now! The symptoms you described are classic concussion.
I’m glad she seems better now, but you should still get a CAT scan; no telling what might’ve happened inside her skull and finding out diagnostically is better than finding out empirically.
(No, I’m not a medical professional, but I had an accident-prone adolescence and have more than a little experience with head trauma.)
18 kellypea // Feb 1, 2008 at 11:58 pm
A perfect picture that captures the personality you so knowingly described. What a scary experience. I am quite familiar with that particular sound…
19 mamatulip // Feb 4, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Oh my gosh. That’s terrifying.
But the picture…the picture is love.
20 the new girl // Feb 7, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Oh Mel,
It feels like someone is squeezing my throat.
I’m glad that she’s all right. Holy hell. Her poor little noggin. I agree that it sounds like she might have a concussion, did they rule that out for you? My niece had one once.
It’s a beauty of a shot too. For real.
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