We got one of these:
And this happened:
Thanks to the Browning's for letting us borrow these bad-boys.
I told Brett he could say, "I told you so."
He's a gentleman and he didn't.
We never had a tramp growing up, but I had plenty of friends who did and we had SO MUCH FUN!!!! I've always talked about getting a tramp for our kids. Brett has always blown the wind out of those sails because of all the accidents he's seen, being in the medical field and all. But, when Brett's brother asked if we wanted the frame from their huge tramp and all we'd have to buy was the mat, I couldn't refuse! Brett reluctantly said, "O-kaa-aay." (Imagine that word being said in 3 syllables along with kind of a "something-bad-is-going-to-happen" tone...or a "you-must-not-love-our-kids-as-much-as-I-do" tone.)
Can you hear it?
Anyway, we got it and set it up. We'd had it all summer and had a TON of fun on it. Connor has even learned to do front flips on it. We've spent a lot of time out there as a family. We've played dodge ball and crack the egg; we've layed on it to count the stars. The kids practically lived out there during the summer with the sprinkler running under it. They loved it!
Then it happened.
We were out jumping for our family night activity. I jumped over by Makenna and tried to 'bounce' her. You know what I mean, right? Give her a little 'boost' to bounce her higher than she can jump on her own. It is such a fun feeling! Anyway, as I was in the act of doing it, she yelled, "NO!!!" I couldn't stop at that point and she totally rolled her ankle. Diagnosed by dad as a true sprain. Check out the damage:
And this was on one of the better-looking days.
I felt horrible as you can imagine. We were all inside consoling Makenna and she looked at me and could tell I felt like a big, fat jerk. She said, "Mommy, don't feel bad. We all make mistakes and we all have accidents." Hearing her say that made my heart melt even more. How did I get such a sweet daughter? In her time of pain and sadness, she was more concerned about how I felt. She is so incredibly thoughtful. Brett wrapped it up and luckily she went to bed and slept all night. We were worried about her waking up from the pain.
The next day she couldn't even stand on her leg. Obviously, she could not go to school. She was pretty upset about this, but knew it wouldn't work. So, when it came time to go, I offered to push her in our little umbrella stroller (totally too small for her) and let her tell her teacher she wouldn't be there and get any homework she needed to do. The boys and I walked to school and when we got to their class, Makenna was bombarded with kids asking her what had happened and hugging her and telling her to get well soon. Then, it was time to go. We said good-bye to McKay and Connor. Then it hit McKay. He said, "How am I going to go to school with out my sister?" He was genuinely worried about this. I told him he would be fine and then I said, "Mickey, no one else gets to have their sister in their class with them. You can be like everyone else today." That seemed to do the trick and he went to class.
As I pushed Makenna home in our too small umbrella stroller, it dawned on me that these twins are both very sweet and thoughtful people. Not only are they sweet and thoughtful, but they have a bond that I don't understand. They don't feel complete without eachother, they feel sort of lost without the other. I should have been a little more empathetic to McKay feeling worried about going to school alone. I don't totally get it, but now I understand better. I feel so blessed to have these twins in my life.
As for the tramp, it's still up and being used every day. We love it. Here's to no more injuries.
