The Biggest Mess I Ever Got Myself Out Of Was A "Family Mess":2 Accidents & A Birthday Party
Posted: Sunday, July 17, 2011
by Fran Larson
http://www.franniesquotes.com/
The biggest mess I ever got myself out of was actually a “family mess.” It was a time when we, as a family gritted our teeth and pulled together.
It all began when my oldest daughter, Julie, who was then 17 years old, ran into the garage door, while in her car. (I think she was distracted due to the fact that her boyfriend was in the army and sent to another state.) She backed out after she realized what she had done and at that point, the garage door fell on the garage floor. We all heard a big bang and went running out to the garage. Of course she was very upset, as she is a very good driver and she said she must have put her foot on the gas, thinking she was footing the brake.
I told Jim I was calling an ambulance, so that we could take him to the hospital. He said “no” and to give him a few minutes. At that point, he could not even stand up. After a few minutes, he managed to get on his feet, but it was quite painful. I told my 4 daughters that I needed to take Jim to the emergency room.
However, there was another problem. Jamie, aged 12, another one of my daughters was scheduled to have a birthday party in just a couple of hours. It was too late to cancel the party. I had planned to make homemade churned ice cream. Julie said that she could handle it, even though she was quite upset and felt everything was her fault. I felt really bad leaving her with this responsibility. Now that I think back, I probably should have called the whole thing off, but at the time, I thought it would be good for the children to be distracted and go ahead with these birthday party plans.
I took Jim to the emergency room. He was diagnosed with a severely bruised tendon on his right upper thigh. Thank goodness it wasn’t as bad as I thought, as I was imagining him having permanent percussions from this accident.
When we got home, the birthday party was over. Julie had successfully churned the ice cream and it was delicious. To this day, I don’t know how she did it because she was so upset. I can still see her precious and sweet face, as she thought she was to blame for all of her Dad’s pain. As for churning the ice cream, she had participated in churning ice cream before, but never had the full responsibility, such as keeping a lot of dry ice in the churn and churning it toward the end is really hard work.
Who knows how one gets through these things when one feels so helpless and one accident morphs into two accidents.
How did I get out of my mess? God only knows. I am not being sarcastic, but God calmed us all, as we worked through our scare and Julie hosted a birthday party that she will never forget.
To this day, my daughters are sweet and always helping each other out and would do anything for Jim and I. (They are grown now with families of their own).
P.S. Julie married her "army" boyfriend and they are still happily married with 3 children.
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)What badges Fran! You're seriously after me now...lol...
The incidences that you have shared are just too scary in life...But enjoyed the article...
Chiradeep
What an amazing family story, Fran, it sounds horrifying. Poor Julie, what an awful thing to happen. And I winced as I read about the coil landing on Jim's leg. Thank God it wasn't anything worse. It seems to me that you were the calm in the storm, despite your own distress.
Hi Fran.
Your family did what it needed to do ... pulled together to get done what needed to be done. Can't ask more than that!
Great story.
Hugs,
Dianne
Why do we always get things in twos or threes when they happen? You kept your calm and did what you had to do at the time. All went well because the family rose up to help. Good thing your husband was not injured worse. And isn't it also always true that the worst things run through our minds and replay. You shared a family war story and lived through it. It shapes us for the next occurrences. Fran, as always, great telling!
A true life drama with a happy ending. Fran. I know things always happened the way they are especially at the least you have expected them but they did however that give you sweet and sour memories...
Fran: Nothing like trouble that involves our kids. It's the quickest way to the center of our panic and worry areas. You have to wait for life to unfold as you sit there doing what you can and not go crazy. Good article.
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