Supermom - Failed

I’m sure I’m not the only mom in the world who feels like she does not measure up. And, so, tries harder. And, so, fails miserably. Although I hope no one has failed like I managed to today.

I’m also sure I’m not the only mom who tries to encourage in her children things she wishes she were better at. For me, one of those things is creativity. Ed wouldn’t agree, but I am not very creative. Of course, my barometer has always been my sister Katey which may not be a completely fair standard of measurement since she can paint, and draw, and make beautiful Better Homes and Gardens décor while I can…none of those. So, naturally, she’s a crafty mom and even has a place in their upstairs hall where the boys can hang their masterpieces. My kids use the fridge which is all the space we require considering how little arts and crafts I initiate. But today was a rare day when I had the house clean, dinner didn’t need to be prepped till the evening and no laundry to do. So, I decided to try something I had seen on Pinterest…

Honestly, it should have been simple enough. One would think even Melissa Sturm Camus could not fail at Moon Sand which requires only flour and baby oil. But it wasn’t really fine mixing it by hand, my blender was in the sink dirty and I didn’t want to wash it so I thought my immersion blender would work just fine. Which it would be half-decent if I hadn’t been in a rush in order to attempt to keep Ethan out of the wading pool so he wouldn’t get his clothes drenched. (8:30 in the morning is a little early to be on set-of-clothes-#2.) Well, not thinking, I did not unplug the blender to clean the Moon Sand from the head where the blade is. You can imagine the rest…

Now it could have been way worse. I could have chopped off my finger. I could have sliced a bone. All I had really done is slice it enough that I knew it needed stitches. So, while it was under running water, I called Ed and told him he needed to come home NOW. Then I wrapped my finger in a cloth with ice. And headed outside where Ethan was in the pool fully dressed and Emry bouncing around outside it, dropped into the grass and put my feet high in the air – barely managing to avoid fainting. Over the next 30 minutes as we waited for Ed, I avoided one more fainting spell, managed to get the kids ready to go (minus Ethan’s shoes), packed a few snacks and Emry provided me with a Star Wars Band-aid so my finger would get all better.

My finger is way beyond the need of a Band-aid (although the nurses thought it was very sweet of Emry). The first attempt (after a good cleaning and Tetnus shot) was to stitch the finger – at least the one major laceration. But the PA warned me right way it was going to be tricky and not pretty: my dream career as a hand model was over. So after numbing my entire left pointer finger, she made a very courageous attempt. But the flaps of skin were too thin and the stitches wouldn’t knot in place. So, she called the doctor for a second opinion. One look and the doctor ordered an x-ray to insure I had not hit any bone (I didn’t) and said the PA would have to gel foam it. Gel foam is tiny pieces of foam she packed into my cuts to stop the bleeding, cause clotting and then allow the finger to heal naturally. Which means hopes of any career as a burglar are over as well for if I failed to wear gloves, the scars on my fingerprints will be a dead giveaway. Two hours later, I left the office with an antibiotic for the next 10 days, extra dressings, an order to not let it get wet for at least 3 days but the more the better, instructions to come back just to see how it was healing in a week, lots of scary warnings and Emry admonishing me, “Mama, you need to be careful.” That is an understatement.

All in all, I praise God it was not worse than it could have been – I’ll still have use of my finger and its my left hand, not my right. I praise Him for modern medicine and the glories of being numbed in order to be stitched and gel foamed. I praise Him the kids were good for Ed who walked them over to the toy section in Walmart and then lunch at McDonalds. And I pray this thing heals well. It doesn’t have to be beautiful; I just want it to heal without complications. And I pray Ethan will stop trying to touch it!

Note from August 11: Actually, it is fractured. I have to make an appointment to see an orthopedic doctor as soon as I can Monday morning. Sigh. With one vehicle and both of us working...that's all I needed!