The perils of chasing miniature horses

I positively hate calls that come after I am asleep. They invariably get the heart rate going and provoke panic. Calls that start with, "Mom," followed by lots of static then the word "stitches" and more static and ending with, "no broken bones," are the worst. My daughter's voice was calm, so I hoped the news wouldn't be too bad.  Five phone calls later we finally had a good enough connection for me to find out that our 18-month-old grandson, Jacob, had been chasing one of the miniature horses and it had kicked him in the face.  Except for a few bruises, a loose tooth and two stitches in his lip he is fine and will be his usual cheerful self by the time you read this.  In the spirit of a true grandma, the following day I accosted a preacher who had come in for some business supplies and talked him into sending up a prayer for Jacob. He did a fine job of it and I appreciated it more than he realized.  Somehow I doubt if this will be the last such incident that results in a late-night phone call. My grandchildren are fearless - as they should be. The horse kick could have been so much worse. Quick thinking by his half-brother, Nathaniel, and his father resulted in timely treatment and probably lessened the possibility of even more severe injuries.   It reminded me of when my brothers were toddlers. Mom was hanging clothes out on the line. I was giving one of them a horsey back ride and he tumbled over my head and landed mouth-first on a toy metal wagon.  My poor mother came in to find all three of us in tears as I held my brother in a football hold over the sink while I washed the blood off his split lip.  A life well-lived usually results in scars of some type; be they physical or otherwise. Jacob is young enough that he will not remember being injured. I do hope that he is more careful around larger creatures.  All of this is ironic in a way. His sister, Emma, started riding lessons on big horses last Tuesday. She loves it and can't wait to go back. Maybe it should have been Jacob who started lessons...
As well as being grateful that Jacob wasn't seriously hurt, I am also grateful for technology that allows me to see photographs of him being taken care of in the emergency room. His injuries aren't half as bad as I imagined them to be.  Now that I know Jacob will be fine, I will wait for the next phone call that details the latest childhood mishap or adventure. I only hope the connection is better next time and doesn't include the words, "stitches" or "broken bones."[[In-content Ad]]