Christmas and New Year always provide a bounty of hilarious stories of injuries and funny vignettes. I’d like to share with you one in particular…
I heard a blood-curdling scream, jumped from the couch in what most parents know as survival mode. One of my children was in pain, tears, sobbing the whole works. I made it to the foot of the stairs to see my youngest daughter holding her head. I feared the worst (as you usually do). On first inspection, I saw a red, raw welt just above her right eye. Calm now, because you have to be calm otherwise all hell can break loose; I take her into the bathroom and apply a cold compress.
Once the tears and screaming had stopped, I asked her how the injury had happened. My reaction, well, I’m not proud of it at all. I cried with laughter, one of my sons (teenager no less) had thrown a chocolate sprout at my five year old daughters head, and all I could think about was the answer I’d give to a health professional at the hospital when they ask you in a grave voice “ And how did the injury occur?”. Obviously I wouldn’t lie and I would tell them her elder brother had thrown a chocolate sprout (tasty they are too, better than the real thing) at her head and caused the lump.
Luckily, it didn’t warrant a trip to the busy Accident and Emergency department, they have much more important things to deal with this time of year. Nevertheless, it didn’t end there, for the rest of the week after Christmas my daughter told everyone who would listen that her brother had injured her with a sprout. I felt a little perturbed by this, as I feel my sprouts are usually cooked well, not too soft and not too hard…
By Angela Haffenden