As parents, we are familiar with the many daily perils our little ones encounter. They simply lack the judgment necessary to stay alive on their own (ie: choking on marbles or hot dogs, dashing in front of cars, running with knives and pencils, getting into the medicine cabinet, climbing out of car seats, burning themselves, drowning, etc. etc. etc.)
Our youngest is three and half now, and very verbal and sensible for his age, really. Parker is completely potty trained and usually obedient. Jeff and I were just commenting the other day on how relieved we were to be done with the perilous stage of toddler hood and not have to be in hyper-mode all the time, wondering if someone is hurt or dead from one minute to the next. Sigh....we jumped the gun a bit.
The next day, as we sat eating dinner, Alex shouted,"There goes Parker!" and pointed up to the skylight in the ceiling. "I just saw half of his body run by!"
"What?" I said as I glanced to his empty stool at the dinner table. He had been there just moments before, happily stuffing his face.
We dashed outside and to our horror saw Parker teetering on the pinnacle of the roof of our house with a big smile on his face. Jeff and the two big boys were still at football. Katie was my only hope. "Katie go up!" I said with intense calm, then proceeded to coax Parker to hold very still. The other children were emphatically giving him orders at the same time and I worried he would become discombobulated and start running around again.
Katie quickly climbed the deck railing, teetered, then lifted herself to the short strip of slanted awning to get to the roof above. Below her was a two story drop. (It is extremely precarious. I have never attempted it MYSELF) How did Parker DO that with his heavy, clumsy little body??? I shuddered to think.
Katie yelled, "Everyone be quiet!" then proceeded to sweetly address Parker. "Be a statue. Katie is going to come to you. Stay right there. Don't move."
I was very proud of her poise under pressure. Katie was able to reach him and maneuver him down to me on the deck.
After impressing upon him how dangerous that was, and giving him a spank (which I do on rare occasions), I was amazed. With a "humph" and half smile he slowly shook his head and muttered, "Well, it was a pretty good trick. It was a pretty good trick." As I reiterated how he should NEVER do it again and how he could get BLOOD on him and LOTS of "OWIES" and be DEAD, he simply "humphed" and repeated "It was a pretty good trick...."
Since then, my heart has been full of gratitude that something awful didn't happen, and that my little Parker is alive and well. Of course it was a good reminder for the children. We discussed Parker's false sense of competence and how we should always be obedient even if we feel "we can handle it".
I guess we've got a LOOOONG way to go before we're out of the danger zone! Come to think of it....as parents, are we ever? No. But it's a pretty good trick...
