I know, I know. Posts about being thankful should be on Thursday, so the whole alliteration thing works. Eh. Sorry. It’s thankful Friday.
It was the last day of school. Rowdy kids were high on the fact that they would never be in elementary school again. They’d had enough of kiddie stuff. They were ready for the big time – middle school.
To celebrate, a bunch of them met at the lake. The sun danced across the water, the docks floated, ready to be jumped off, and, somehow, even the sand felt smoother in between their toes. They splashed into the cold water without a care. Summer was here.
Parents lined their beach chairs up on the beach and watched their kids shake off the shackles of elementary school and grow up all in the span of one afternoon.
The kids jumped off the dock. They pushed each other off the dock. But without lifeguards the innocent fun turned into a boy vs girl war and who would control the dock. This meant more pushing and shoving and pulling.
Somehow, one girl slipped on the ladder and her tooth cracked against the hard metal. Blood poured from her mouth. She struggled to shore, her classmates not sure if she was kidding or not.
Reaching the beach, she searched in vain for her mother. “Where’s my mom?” she cried. Well, her mom had left her in the care of the parents where she was about to spend the night that night. So she wasn’t there.
After getting over the shock, parents jumped up to help her, pulling out napkins and water bottles to rinse her mouth, offering a hug and kind words.
One man jumped up from his beach chair. “Is it her tooth?”
This man and his wife happened to be dentists. Wearing flip-flops and bathing suits, they brought the girl to their office, stopped the bleeding and glued half of her front tooth back on. The mom arrived, shaken and feeling bad she wasn’t there. Friends brought flowers and good wishes.
I’m thankful for our friends, who happen to be dentists, who gave up their free time to treat my daughter like she was their own. It really meant a lot to me.
What are you thankful for?
Oh! Ow!
I feel for you. And her. But, there is nothing like the feeling of not being there.
I’m glad your friends were able to help so much, so quickly.
Hope all is well, for your daughter.
My Minnow was once delivered to my classroom (yes, we were both in the same school) minutes after nearly being knocked out in a gym class. She sat on my chair while I attempted to string words together enough to teach. My class were so sweet — but fascinated as the purple lump on her cheek bone kept growing. We waited for medical assistance and a substitute teacher together :s
What a great story! I definitely feel for you, Laura. How many times do we go off to do whatever only for something bad to happen to our kids. Yay, for your dentist friends. 😀
Oh, how nice to gave wonderful (and dentist!) friends. I’m thankful for supportive friends too, and for family, and sunshine, and cool fall breezes.
Happy weekend!
Karen 🙂
Oh, wow! What a story! Thank goodness for goodhearted people!
I was in tears writing this post. I know it was only about 6 months ago, but it was still traumatizing to see my daughter lose part of her front adult tooth, knowing she’ll never get it back, but thankful that it wasn’t a whole lot worse!
Awe- so glad she had people there you could count on. I hate mom guilt. Totally been there.
Laura–what an awful feeling to not be there, but what great friends you have. I struggle with wanting to be with my daughter all the time and giving her the room to grow up. It’s hard. ::hugs::
I’m glad you had good friends there who could help and take care of your daughter.
That’s amazing that there were dentists right there. People can be so generous. I love hearing these kinds of stories. Sorry about your daughter’s tooth though.
Oh, wow. Now that’s a nice warm and fuzzy story. What wonderful friends you have! 🙂
My heart goes out to you. That was too scary and what wonderful people those dentists were to jump right in and help.
I wish those parents had been around when I was in 5th grade. I bumped my mouth and a big chip of one of my front tooth fell out. The poor kid is probably going to have to have that bleached every once in a while.
I’m thankful for my husband. He stayed with me through my 40s.
I cringed when I read the part about the tooth! Oh my, what an event. It sounds like so many people took care of your daughter, which is wonderful.
I’m thankful for a healthy family, a roof over my head, and my husband’s job. I could go on and on, because we’re blessed.
I am thankful for friends that last a lifetime.
I am thankful for friends, that become family, that last a lifetime.
Even better 🙂