Kate's Faceplant

One time we went out and Katherine did a faceplant. First question- which one? Yes, she was an adventurous lass and often got hurt. She frequently got herself in sticky situations. On a nice evening Linette and I went out for ice cream with Dan and Casey in Phoenix. We were standing outside on the sidewalk enjoying talking and treats. It must not have been summer. I don’t recall if Linette was holding Asher or if he was old enough to try to follow Katherine around. That was his favorite thing to do but it took a long time before he was good at it. Most likely he was sitting and eating his ice cream, preparing the bulk he would need to stretch to 6’-3” later on. Katherine was climbing up and down a wood slat bench and jumping off. She had crashed so often in her life that Linette and I had become immune to such behavior. She was wearing sandals, I think. Linette loved salt water sandals. On one of her jumps the front of her shoe caught in the wood slat as she leapt forward. Her foot stuck fast and her momentum catapulted her face first down onto the concrete. Four adults gasped. This was going to be a bad one. Were we going to finish our ice cream on the way to the urgent care center? How many teeth would she lose? Sprained ankle? Well, a bloody nose for sure. We were all too far away to catch her, with just enough time to lean forward. Then someone kicked the diaper bag. Just right. Katherine faceplanted into mom’s magic bag filled in diapers and bounced right up to climb the bench again.

We all looked at each other and let out our breath. Yikes, that was close. No broken bones were likely but the fall would have ended a delightful evening. I turned to congratulate someone on the soccer skills. It was a perfectly timed, perfectly aimed kick. Right under her nose, just in time, without overshooting. I didn’t see who did it. Everyone denied touching the bag. Odd. I wasn’t even sure where it had come from. I swear we had left it next to the bench. We questioned each other and laughed. None of us new what had just happened and Asher wasn’t telling. 

I think Dan was the first to suggest something incredible had happened. We didn’t know what exactly but it was unusual, perhaps miraculous. I think it was angelic protection after having had time to think about it. It was nice to think that we could receive such simple assistance and didn’t need to deal with tears that night. We were grateful that the accident was avoided. It was a small miracle but loving proof that even the insignificant events, like ice cream night, don’t go unnoticed.