Not My Finest Hour

Last Thursday afternoon we took an excursion and went to the park for a quick trip on the swings and the slide. We both needed some fresh air. While we were there, Jasper was trying to get up onto the playground equipment. The step was really too high for him, so as he was bracing himself to get up I tried to give him a little boost. You can probably see where this is going. Jasper wasn't prepared for the outside help, and his arms buckled under the extra force. His face went straight into the step, and his top lip was busted. I didn't actually realize this at first ... not until I saw the blood on my shirt while I was trying to comfort him. Isn't it interesting that kids are so trusting? Here I had just caused him pain and he was turning to me to comfort him from the very same pain. Poor kid! But, to my surprise, after he cried a few minutes and the bleeding had stopped, he went on to keep playing like nothing had ever happened. And, he actually did get up that same step later. What do I know?


Here's my very disheveled, swollen-lip boy:

and there's more ...

After his nap, we had a short time to get ready to head downtown to meet a friend for dinner. Since Jasper had gotten his hair all messed up at lunch time, I needed to comb through it. (A bath would have been better, but there was no time for that.) So, I took him into the bathroom to comb his hair. I thought it would be a struggle, but to my surprise, Jasper was entertaining himself and didn't mind. He was so into what he was doing that he literally let me comb through crusty stuff. I was ecstatic. This never happens. I didn't realize what he was playing with until the cap slipped under the door, and he started banging on the door to get it. I looked, and then to my shock I saw that he was playing with a plastic jar of Vaseline. Both hands were covered with Vaseline, and the jar was all slimed. Oh my, and his pants were covered in Vaseline! That doesn't come out in the wash, you know. Those pants are now officially "play or sleep pants." As I tried to get him off the floor to clean him up before he did more damage, he slimed my jeans. How nice. I deserved that for ignoring what he was doing while he sat literally under my nose.

Thank goodness for grace.