more brokenness *edited*

It was late afternoon.
Really - pretty much supper time...
But i had been cooped up all day & the warm days have been so few & far between - & so - since Neil wasn't going to be home any time soon, i pretended... that it was only late afternoon.
It was a rash decision.
i was in the middle of folding laundry - & i left it there - half folded.
i ran downstairs and ignored the dozens of tiny chores that vied for my attention & scooped up my baby in my arms.
i snatched a bunch of bananas & a bag of granola bars & 2 pieces of stale bread.
i shouted for the littlest ones to meet me in the front & we set off for the pond.
The 3 bigs were finishing up some school work, & so it was just me & my 4 youngest ones.
The bread was to lure the ducks closer.
But Gagey was much more interested in finding rocks to throw in the water. Maybe that's why the ducks wouldn't come.
Ephraim tried to eat leaves off the ground & Mollen & Charter leaped from rock to rock exploring, laughing & shouting...
i don't know how long it lasted.
Not long enough...
& my cell phone rang.
It was Cairo, they had gone rollerblading & Peyton had fallen - her wrist looks pretty bad.
As quickly as i could, i gathered my little chickies & headed for home.
i knew with a sinking feeling in my gut as soon as i saw it - that we needed to get her in to emergency.
And so - hours spent, x-rays completed, a doctor's decision to send her to the children's hospital to have it reset, a tired mama bringing the baby home & letting daddy transport our girl for what we know will be a painful procedure...
It's 11:49pm - My girl isn't home yet.
i'm tired of broken bones - of pain & hospitals.
i'm grateful for tag team parenting - & little ones who are active enough to get hurt...
So ends Cai's 14th birthday...
i'm hoping that's the end of our bone breaking streak of 2010...
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*edited to add*
They got home at 3:30am. They sedated her pretty heavily to set the bone. Neil said the doctor gave it a big yank & heard a *crack*. Afterwards, they casted it & gave her another x-ray to make sure it's going to heal properly.
It's the end of a 10 year streak for Peyton. The meds they gave her made her throw up. Two firsts for my girl: first broken bone, first puke.
Poor darling.
As she was coming back around, Neil said she was searching for him with her eyes saying, "i need you daddy, i need you... i wanted *you* to come with me." (& she did, too. She had asked me when we were at the emergency if daddy could please take her to the hospital). & then after a pause, "Daddy, why are there 2 of you?" & then back to sleep.
i love that Peyton wanted her daddy. When i had called Neil to tell him, he said, "Yeah, well... you know me, mr. compassion."
& he's not....
compassionate...
But that little 10 year old girl - knew deep in the folds of her brain - the loving protectiveness that her daddy has for her. All she wanted was the comfort of his presence.
Beautiful.