A toddler first

Grace has experienced her first boo-boo, her first sight of scraped skin and exposed blood. OK, well maybe that's not totally true since she has already experienced surgery at the ripe age of 3 months, and opened skin and blood are part of that bargain. But this -- a scraped and bloodied knee -- is part of toddlerhood, and this afternoon Grace was introduced the hard way.

It was bound to happen: a newly-turned five year old careening on his newly-obtained two-wheeled scooter + a reckless toddler with a fierce need-for-speed = a mangled mess of limbs and metal and concrete. Aidan was instantly stricken and concerned for his sister's well-being; "I am so sorry, little Gracie!" And Grace, being the tough little nut that she is, got up, looked around a bit, eyes then drawn to that new, odd stinging sensation she must have suddenly noticed on her knee. I expected -- well, I expected a reaction similar to what my toddler boy used to give me (and still does) at the sight of a boo-boo: quiet, until that first sight of liquid red, and then instant wailing. I didn't get that from my girl; rather, she remained quiet and calm, her little brow furrowed, a slight whimper of "oooooh, boo-boo, Mommy." She took my hand as we walked into the house (dinner was ready anyway), she saw her bowl of steaming penne with sauce and climbed up on her chair, ready to dig right in. She had no qualms with me cleaning the scrape and applying a band-aid while she ate. She did check out my work occasionally, saying her usual words for band-aid ("boo-boo better" or "banding") and gave the adorable furrowed-brow-with-whimper for effect, but that was it -- a done deal.

My baby is growing up, obtaining her red badge of courage with nary a tear. I am constantly amazed at how different my children are.

**********************
Clearly Grace is of the "get back up on the horse" mentality. Not only did she completely forget about her scraped knee, but she decided to tackle the instrument itself that caused her pain in the first place. With her new "boo-boo better" securely fastened to her knee, she went in search of her big brother's discarded 3-wheeled scooter, which now, she feels, rightly belongs to her. Talk about a trooper ...