Skate Park

Papa and I took the kids to the local skate park yesterday. We went first thing in the a.m., hoping to avoid the crowd of older kids. When we first arrived, there were only 2 other boys so that was good. Of course, my son decided he wanted to follow them around....

....WELL.....he had never been to a skate park, and I told him that he should go slowly at first until he got to know the layout. But he was trying to show off for the other boys, so he ended up going over the edge of a part that was not designed for scooters. It launched him, quite literally, right over the handlebars and onto his face. There was no time for him to put his hands out. I waited for the screaming to start, especially since there was blood all over his hands when he put them to his mouth. I thought for sure he might have knocked his (adult) front teeth out, or broken his nose. I mean he smacked the concrete HARD!!! I started walking toward him, telling him to stay calm (I think I was talking to both of us actually). Normally when he gets hurt, he emits a high pitched scream that is even higher in tone than most females. But I think since the other boys were watching (everyone pretty much stopped when he smacked the pavement), he was playing it cool. He seemed fascinated at the amount of blood on his hands from his mouth. I took a quick look and was relieved to see all of his teeth. I signaled to Papa, who was already on his way, to take him to the restroom to rinse his mouth and assess the damage. Meanwhile, sonny boy is telling the other boys, "I'm alright, it's cool." Mister Joe Cool....where did this kid come from?

After they left for the restroom, I'm thinking, well that's the end of the skate park. I headed over to retrieve his fallen scooter, which one of other boys was kindly bringing toward me. The kid says to me with a big grin, "He's crazy!" He was clearly impressed. I said, yeah, he's trying to keep up with you guys. Mind you, they are both a few years older than my son.

I am listening for the sounds of blood curdling screams issuing from the men's room, and to my surprise, there is relative quiet. Does this mean he has passed out from all the blood? Is he in shock? Where are the girlie screams? Not a put down, that's just his normal reaction. Peer pressure is keeping him silent and brave.

When he finally emerges, he is resolute....with a fat upper lip on the right side and a blister forming above his lip. Papa says his front left tooth is a little loose, but intact. I am thankful it is not worse. Normally, he has his little tongue sticking out of his mouth (the tip) whenever he is concentrating on doing something. Thankfully, this was not the case or he would have bit it off for sure. He decides to take a small rest for awhile, but is still waving and giving a thumbs up to the other boys, like some sort of politician on parade. Amazing.

Meanwhile, girlie is still standing against the wall debating this whole skate park thing. When we visited the night before and saw all the older kids doing their thing, they were both so jazzed to go the following day. They woke us up at 7 am asking "are we going yet?" This continued for the next 3 hours until it was time to leave. But after she was faced with the actual ramp and her scooter, she seemed to be having second thoughts. I wasn't pushing it.

But, once again, the boys who were there were having some strange effect on my kids.....apparently my babies couldn't bear the thought of others thinking they were chicken. Great....not a good sign for their future. Next thing I know, girlie is pushing off on the "baby ramp" and now it is on.

All in all, it wasn't too bad of a day. We only stayed for an hour, once the bigger kids and bikes started to show up, it was safer to leave. She ended up bruising her hip when she didn't quite make it up one of the ramps and fell on her side.

Papa thinks I'm nuts for letting them do this. They are daredevils at heart...both of them. I have been living with my heart in my throat their entire lives. There will be broken bones for both I am sure. It is only a matter of time. Not that I'm in a rush. I told them both that since they are so young, they will not be allowed to go back until I buy more protective gear (wrist guards), and next time they have to wear elbow and knee pads or they can't ride. I can at least try to minimize the damage.

God help me!