What an exciting day it was! Pastor Scott preached great today, it was great to see Joan back in church so soon after her “spell” (as the old folks say), and we had a couple of visitors make a repeat visit – yeah! The fun really started after church when the men’s softball team held their first practice and most of the church turned out to cheer them on (or laugh as the case may be). The guys did great – there’s probably going to be some aching muscles tomorrow : ) It was kind of overwhelming to see my ex on the mound pitching, my son playing 2nd, his half-brother playing short and my son-in-law in left center – all playing with the same church team. How blessed is that???

Speaking of being blessed, we had a little accident during practice and Garey and Ellen ended up having to leave for a little bit to take little Emma to the Urgent Care Center. Poor little thing was playing behind the bleachers and tripped and fell against one of the crossbeams and split her forehead wide open. There was so much blood (and crying and screaming) it was hard to tell how bad it was at that moment. Turns out it wasn’t near as bad as we were dreading (that gorgeous little porcelain face scarred for life, concussions, brain damage – us grandmothers think of it all). The doctor didn’t even stitch it – he “glued” the skin back together (actually stitches cause scarring) and they were back at the field in time for daddy to get a couple hits and fielding practice.

I’ve got to say it though – I was really proud of my kids (and I include Ellen in that) in the way they handled the first trip to the Emergency Room. Ellen was super calm (Garey was a little panicky, but that was understandable – he did have to come flying at Superdad speed off the field when he learned it was Emma that had been hurt so his adrenaline was already pumped). But Nina was terrific – she jumped right in there and seemed to know exactly what to do. And this from the mom I’ve seen become nearly hysterical when her own kids are hurt (or Mocha their dog when she had a reaction to a bug bite). So I was very impressed. As a grandmom, it makes me feel even more blessed knowing my kids and kid-in-laws can keep cool heads in times of emergencies and have grown enough they don’t need mom to tell them what to do : )

And as the grandmother I learned something today (I already knew it but it was confirmed). My kids and kid-in-laws are great parents. When I first saw the blood and heard the blood-curling screams and realized they were coming from Emma, my first reaction was to grab her and run across the street to the fire department because I knew those guys are EMT’s and certainly we were dealing with a life and death situation (in grandma’s mind at least) and I had to get my little Emma help. But then her mommy and daddy and Aunt Nina jumped right in there and knew what to do and remained calm while doing it. When Garey and Ellen hurried her to the car to take her to the Urgent Care Center, there was a big part of me that wanted to go with them, to hold her hand and tell her she was going to be okay, to hold Garey’s hand and tell him his daughter was going to be okay, to hug Ellen and tell her not to worry. But I didn’t go. They didn’t need me to. Mommy and daddy had it all under control and little Emma was right where she’s supposed to be – in her mom and dad’s capable hands.

It hurts when they grow up. But what a blessing it is when they turn out okay.