If Boo-Boos were Blessings

At two weeks into June, Noah and Ryan's arms and legs look as if they've scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro in shorts. They no sooner leave the house with a clean wound and a band-aid when they rush back in with a new injury to be addressed. (Not to mention the previous band-aid lost contact with the skin and the wound and sticky skin around are covered in dirt.) So it goes until September when long pants are appropriate again and the battle wounds of summer begin to fade.

This all started when they were little, we all know the scenario - great fun ensues until the moment when the laughter stops, the mouth is wide open screaming so loud there is no sound coming out. Ryan was the worst, facial stitches at 17 months because of his insatiable desire to climb. Noah's wounds were always sports related, you know, the the usual  - two-hand touch football somehow ends up with Ryan knocking out a tooth, on Noah's head which is bleeding. When I hear the door open and the panicky "Mom, I need help!" I now just calmly turn the corner with my eyes closed and ask "Do you have all your teeth and both eyes?" If the answer is yes, I begin the process of assessing wound triage. Thank the Lord, the answer is usually yes - except for that one time.

Even though Lucas has always been active I've never experienced this with him in the past. Last summer he was active but only in his comfort zone. That was the same time we decided to get serious about things like mitochondrial efficiency, clean diet and metabolic balance. With each change we made Lucas's good energy became great, I saw the advent of risk taking and even put on the first band-aid in late August. Truthfully, the band-aid was unnecessary, but I had a huge supply of Thomas the Tank engine and Blue's Clue's band-aids and couldn't wait to put one on.

Today, we came in from playing outside and I have just spend 20 minutes cleaning out the new boo-boos and re-cleaning the old. I find myself secretly worrying about scarring and what in the world Lucas's legs and elbows will look like by September. I think about how he got hurt and realized he was running so fast and laughing that he tried to jump up the curb, and missed. I think about all the times I sat here patching up the beautiful skin of my children and how Lucas is no different. Same injuries, same process, same blood.

It amazes me how even the most mundane things as skinned knees are given a new life because of perceptions. Patching up my kids might be very low on my list of things I like to do, but at least they are able and healthy enough to go out and get them. Next time we're running, I hope Lucas has the idea to try and jump that curb again, I'll gladly clean out more wounds looking forward to the day I won't have to.

Every time I patch up one of my boys I think "If Boo-Boos were Blessings..." Today I realized they are.