So I was looking over my old posts and I found this Draft that I never posted... it is really old but I thought I'd post it anyway since it was a very significant thing in the Kiernan Family..I'm sure I shared this story with you all already but here it goes.
Jan 28, 2008
You know how you tell your kids something over and over and over and over again and for some reason they still don't get it? Well, ever since we moved into the new town home I have been telling Caleb he needs to HOLD ON TO THE RAIL when going down the stairs. I constantly have to remind him NOT TO PLAY ON THE STAIRS. So, after a while it just gets old. Well this weekend Josh and I were rearranging furniture in our upstairs bedroom while Caleb was playing in his room. I was having Josh move the treadmill to every corner of the bedroom until I found the right place for it. Josh was just about to start getting upset when we heard, thump, thump, thump, thump, all the way down the stairs. I was hoping it was one of Caleb's toys, but, his cry was a definite, there's something seriously wrong, cry. Needless to say Josh and I ran down the stairs to meet him. By the time I got to the bottom of the stairs, Caleb had already lifted himself off the floor and was grabbing his forehead. I immediately start looking for signs of broken bones or internal bleeding while still managing to freak out. As Josh and I are still trying to decided whether or not we need to make a run to the emergency room, Caleb (already calm) asks if he can watch a veggietales movie and have a snack. I look him straight in the eye and say, "DO YOU KNOW YOU JUST FELL DOWN THE STAIRS?" He says, yeah mom but my head doesn't hurt anymore. I of course was still freaking out, so, I tell him he needs to strip down so I can see if he has any bruises or if he's bleeding anywhere.
He's stripped down to his underwear and standing in front of me and I say, okay, tell me what hurts. He says, nothing mom, see, and he starts hitting himself all over. He literally starts punching his sides and legs to show me that he doesn't hurt anywhere. After about 10 minutes of this and 15 minutes since he decided to dive off the second floor, he's still standing in his underwear in front of me, trying to figure out why I'm bawling. I finally pull myself together and want more questions answered, so, I get Curious George and I ask Caleb to reenact his swan dive. And of course, Caleb had to add all of these sound effects and colorful expressions as he shows us how he tripped and fell down the flight of stairs. Apparently he was at the top of the stairs and went to go down when he skipped a step and fell forward. Some how in his falling he turned onto his side and because of his small height ended up just rolling down the stairs on his side. Kind of like rolling down a hill, only, a lot bumpier. He is just the right height that his head and legs were not affected. I still can't believe it. You know, people don't just get up and walk away from tumbling down the stairs. I had to sit down and thank God for this miracle.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Old Town, New habits
Okay, so, by now you all know I'm back in Cleveland, TN. It's nice to be back in town and see all of my friends. It is also nice to know that I'll be close to my sister who is studying at Lee. However, this time around I am having to acquire new survival skills. My husband is in the beginning stages of Army training which requires him to be away from me and Caleb until he completes AIT (advanced individual training). Sooo, that puts me in a single mom position. It really isn't too bad because, thankfully, we only have one kid. However, it does complicate every other aspect of our lives.
Having to re-train myself to not discuss everything with someone else before I make a decision is hard. You know, when your single you don't have to discuss every financial decision with someone else, or you don't have to see what others think about your dinner decisions. But, when you're married, you kind of learn to think out loud so that you get some kind of feed back from your spouse. You know, when talking to them through out the day you might say, hey, I was thinking about Panda for dinner, what do you think? And depending on how positive or negative their response is, you make your decision. So, after 5 years of thinking out loud it has become a habit. Now that Josh is gone I find myself thinking out loud to my 4-year-old, which, let's face it, is NOT a good idea. I actually heard myself ask him today what he wanted to eat for dinner. In some, rare, special occasions that's cool. But any parent knows that when you let your kids make decisions once, they get drunk with power and think they can start making ALL decisions. It was at that moment that I realized what I was doing. I was thinking out loud as if there were another adult present who I needed to consult.
This is one of many changes that I need to make in order to survive Military lifestyle. The only other really major change, or acquired habit, I need to master is learning to be okay with not knowing what's ahead of me. The military is not at all efficient. They really are the most disorganized group I have ever been in contact with. They don't know how long it's going to be, they don't know where you're going to be, they don't really know anything. They tell you one thing, and a week later, A WEEK, not just the next day, or later on that day, a week later they find out they were wrong and things have changed. Do you know how much planning goes into motion within a week that has to be un-planned? Anyway, this of course poses a problem for me because I am super planning woman. I have to know what's coming around the corner before I move in that direction. I suppose, by some divine chance, this could be God teaching me to rely on Him alone. He just seems to always hit me where it hurts the most, my need for control.
So, beyond these points, and the most obvious, not having my hubby around, there really isn't too much to complain about. I am proud of what Josh does, and I can't lie, I enjoy the pay. I only pray that whatever God has planned for us, He really keeps His promise of not giving us more than we can handle.
Having to re-train myself to not discuss everything with someone else before I make a decision is hard. You know, when your single you don't have to discuss every financial decision with someone else, or you don't have to see what others think about your dinner decisions. But, when you're married, you kind of learn to think out loud so that you get some kind of feed back from your spouse. You know, when talking to them through out the day you might say, hey, I was thinking about Panda for dinner, what do you think? And depending on how positive or negative their response is, you make your decision. So, after 5 years of thinking out loud it has become a habit. Now that Josh is gone I find myself thinking out loud to my 4-year-old, which, let's face it, is NOT a good idea. I actually heard myself ask him today what he wanted to eat for dinner. In some, rare, special occasions that's cool. But any parent knows that when you let your kids make decisions once, they get drunk with power and think they can start making ALL decisions. It was at that moment that I realized what I was doing. I was thinking out loud as if there were another adult present who I needed to consult.
This is one of many changes that I need to make in order to survive Military lifestyle. The only other really major change, or acquired habit, I need to master is learning to be okay with not knowing what's ahead of me. The military is not at all efficient. They really are the most disorganized group I have ever been in contact with. They don't know how long it's going to be, they don't know where you're going to be, they don't really know anything. They tell you one thing, and a week later, A WEEK, not just the next day, or later on that day, a week later they find out they were wrong and things have changed. Do you know how much planning goes into motion within a week that has to be un-planned? Anyway, this of course poses a problem for me because I am super planning woman. I have to know what's coming around the corner before I move in that direction. I suppose, by some divine chance, this could be God teaching me to rely on Him alone. He just seems to always hit me where it hurts the most, my need for control.
So, beyond these points, and the most obvious, not having my hubby around, there really isn't too much to complain about. I am proud of what Josh does, and I can't lie, I enjoy the pay. I only pray that whatever God has planned for us, He really keeps His promise of not giving us more than we can handle.
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