12.2.13 - Double the Fun

One of our *fun* experiences of 2013 has been dealing with injuries in the family.  We have a pretty active and busy family so when Caeden broke his wrist 6 minutes into the first game of his fall basketball season we were immediately concerned with how we were going to keep him busy while he was unable to play basketball.  Ok, that's not entirely true.  Anyone who was at the game when this happened would tell you that I thought Caeden was being overly dramatic and probably needed to fight through whatever pain he was feeling to keep playing.  I was certain the injury was related to a long boarding crash he had earlier in the week after I told him repeatedly to put the board away, so I wasn't real happy to see him injured on the sideline of the basketball game - as though he had somehow intended to get hurt.  It was definitely not my shining moment as a father.  When Caeden and Marcy returned from the ER with x-rays in hand, the arm in a splint, and an appointment with the orthopedic doctor the next Monday I made sure to give Caeden a hug and make sure he was ok.

So, you would think that the next week when Caleb came home from basketball practice and said "I think I broke my finger" I would have remembered the lesson learned from the previous week and responded with a little more sympathy.  (You can see where this is going.....) Instead, I figured that it's only a finger and probably just sprained - Caleb was likely just being dramatic.  Sure it was swollen and starting to turn colors but that's what happens with jammed fingers.  I sent him to bed with a couple advil, some ice, and told him we'd check it in the morning.  When I went in to wake him up in the morning, his finger looked a little puffy from the top of his hand, but not too bad.  When I turned his hand over though, we had all sorts of different shades of blues, purples, and blacks going on.  I think I just said "uh-oh" and went to break (intentional pun) the news to Marcy.

So with both boys in casts, our basketball season has been a little strange so far.  To their credit, the boys have continued to go to practices and games to continue to learn and support their teams, but for us as parents, the games aren't nearly as interesting.

This has created a bit of a bonding experience for the boys though.  We've managed to avoid any punches thrown with the casted arms and they've even discovered a new form of ping pong using their casts instead of paddles. Kyron has felt a little left out of the experience though and is wondering when it will be his turn to have a cast.  I hope it never comes, but if it does, I hope I can respond with a little more compassion than I did with his brothers.