The Blessing of A Sprained Ankle

Yesterday I was enjoying a cup of coffee after getting the kids off to school when the phone rang.  It was the school nurse saying that my son fell during recess and his foot went out sideways and had an egg shaped bulge.  The visual of his foot “going out sideways” and an “egg shaped budge” made my stomach turn and I immediately began to think of the worst case scenario.  In my mind it was either broken or some important ligament had become detached and would cause him to need surgery and have a permanent limp.  My husband went to pick him up from school while I tried to get some work done.  I was not successful.  I basically worried away 45 minutes with little to show for it.  It turns out he just had a sprain, but this got me thinking that he has never really had a serious injury in his life.  He is 12 years old and has been running and jumping off of things as a means of getting around since he learned to walk.  He likes to shimmy up the pole of the swings at the playground and balance on one pipe….and then jump down!  I’ve also caught him climbing up to a cubby near the top of his vaulted ceiling.  This only scratches the surface.  One night last year a neighbor knocked on the door and asked us if we knew where our son was.  “In his room,” we answered.  Well, it turns out that he climbed out the window onto the roof of our townhouse, in the rain, and was walking back and forth between his window and his sisters window.  I was about to explode with anger and fear that he would slip and fall when the neighbor said, “your boy is on the roof… in a Spiderman costume.”   As mad as I was, I could not help but laugh at the thought of my very tall eleven-year-old on the roof in a Spiderman costume.  After I gained my composure he was grounded for a very long time and was told to leave his bedroom door open.   Given his history, I guess I’m blessed that the worst injury he’s had is a sprained ankle.  Count your blessings😊