Accident Prone

Yesterday wasn't the only time this week that Mark saved one of our children. Last Sunday he was given the same opportunity.

The worst sound that any parent can hear is the sound of their child shrieking in pain. Thanks to Micah, I've heard this sound two too many times. I don't know if it is because he's my first boy or if it is because he just has a special inclination towards injury, but Micah is able to find danger in what seems to be the most harmless of situations.

At church on Sunday Elena received a coupon for a free donut because it was the Sunday before her birthday. She couldn't wait to claim her gift, so we all decided to go upstairs with her to the cafe. After we picked up Micah and Christina, Elena ran up the stairs to the main floor of the church. The other 5 of us went to take the elevator because Isaiah was in the stroller. Mark had to run to the bathroom and separated from us.

Christina pushed the button for the elevator. I was talking to Isaiah, when I heard the highest-pitched, blood-curdling shriek. I look up, and Micah's fingers were stuck between the door of the elevator and the wall. I guess that he decided to push the door open with his hand and his hand went into the pocket for the door.

The elevator for the church is set away from all of the activity, and we're always the last ones to leave, so there was NO ONE around. (Yes, out of almost 2,000 people there wasn't a soul anywhere within ear shot.) My first instinct was to try and pull Micah's fingers out of the door, but they wouldn't budge. In the meantime, he is screaming at the top of his lungs. Christina was yelling and panicking at the same time. If Elena was with us, I would have had her run for help, but she was upstairs.

I tried to push the door in a bit to give me some more room to pull his little fingers out, but I had no luck. I squeezed into the open part of the door and started pushing the buttons, but the door wouldn't respond. I was about to push the alarm button, when the door all of the sudden opened.

Apparently, Mark was in the bathroom mid-stream when he heard the scream. He finished quickly and ran outside, where Micah is screaming, Christina is panicking and Isaiah is watching the scene half-awake from his stroller. As I was trying to open the elevator from the inside, he tried to pull his fingers gently, but they wouldn't come out. Then he decided to yank them out. He pushed his weight against the elevator and pulled as hard as he could. I guess he's a little bit stronger than I am, because Micah's fingers finally pulled free.

Micah was still screaming at the top of his lungs and staring at his fingers now. We hurried into the elevator and went upstairs to reunite with Elena and get ice from the cafe. The whole time Micah was screaming. His fingers swelled up like little balloons.

I reported the incident at guest services and I was starting to worry that his fingers might be broken. I asked him to bend them and he wouldn't. Then, he saw one of his friends from his Sunday School class. He started playing, all the time nursing his hand. We kept trying to get him to keep his hands in the ice, but he want to play more and more. Finally, we saw him give his sister 5 with the elevator hand. He winced a little, and then switched hands, but he didn't scream. That was when I knew he was going to be okay.

You know, this reminds me of his last trip to the ER. I will have to share that one with you a later time. Oh, and it reminds me of the escalator incident. I'll put that on the list, too. Now, I need to go make sure the boys aren't getting into any MORE trouble.

Of Churches and Parking Lots

Our church just opened a spectacular new building. There is more room in the sanctuary, classrooms, and children's areas. There is more room everywhere but the parking lot.

I knew going into this church campus change that there were going to be less parking spots, but I didn't realize how much that was going to affect me until the switch happened. In short: there are nowhere near enough parking spaces for the amount of people that come on Sunday. This changes me from the already stressed out mom that had to get 4 young children ready for church kind of woman into the crazy woman who has to drag children into a church building so you better not park in the close spots kind of woman.

One day (no joke) there were about 20 spots open when I dropped Mark off to help out in Sunday School (we're always running late so he has to be dropped off and run like crazy). I missed the area that I wanted to park in, so I decided to drive once around the building and park in my favorite area. When I came around the back of the building I saw (and I am totally not kidding) about 6 cars race to get the last of the parking spots and a bunch of other cars go into stalk mode and start following people that might be attempting to leave. There is a street nearby and I saw about a dozen huge SUVS trying to parallel park on the street before any more people came. It was total mayhem!

Now, the church does provide a shuttle service from a parking lot that I've heard exists, but you cannot see from anywhere within the vicinity of the building. The last thing I want to do is park there for two reasons: I will have to drag my children onto a shuttle bus and we talk a lot after church so that shuttle might just not be there when we need it. Then I will have to drag my 4 kids down a sidewalk conveniently placed between a high voltage power plant and a curvy road. Nope, I'm fighting for my parking space.

This morning I dropped off Mark and 2 of my kids early and he got super HELPFUL, which takes a super lot of TIME. He started wiping off the baby's face and fixing his collar. Within the first 30 seconds, I saw about 10 cars fly past us heading towards the last precious parking spaces. I finally told Mark, "I know you're trying to help, but GO! Those cars are going to park in my SPACE!" I then jumped in the driver's seat and took off, leaving a bewildered husband behind. I headed towards the area that was always open, noticing that the last of the close spots had just been filled. Luckily, I got one of the last spots around the corner. When I got of the car, the gentleman who got the last spot looked at me and breathed a sigh of relief. "We just made it!" he called to me over his car. There is a sense of camaraderie when you claim the last precious parking spots.

On a positive note, they are expanding the parking lot. The expansion is halfway done. But until it is completed, I will fight for my right to park within walking distance of the new building.