I stumbled onto this set of photos from last summer whilst looking for a photo I needed to blog this week. The kids and I spent the day picnicking and swimming in the river at Metcalf Bottoms.
We tied up the baby wrap into a hammock for the princess. And John body surfed the rapids till he developed quite colorful bruises on both of his newly skinny hips.
I packed homemade spaghetti in a thermos along with a bunch of guacamole. There were grapes and dark chocolate and lawn chairs. It was a great day. I sat on a little earthen landing, listening to my father excitedly share some historical tidbits which are forever lost to me. John continued to body surf and Hannah explored the rocky beach. She went around a large boulder to explore even more rocks.
From my perch, I could see she was perfectly safe. From my mother's perspective, she went around the boulder and dropped from view, possibly into the swirling current. Her instinct to rescue Hannah was flawless. Her foot placement however, I believe, causes her pain to this day.
We believe she lodged her foot under a tree root and pivoted in her attempt to run. Instead she broke her ankle and her thumb. She yelped and tried to get up again in concern for her granddaughter. She wouldn't lie still until I had yelled repeatedly that Hannah was okay. Only then, did she stop to consider herself and the cracking sound she heard when she fell.
It was a good day. We had a great time playing together and I saw sacrificial love. I'm just sorry my Mom got hurt in the process. Thank you, Mom. I love you. ... Even if you did tell me I had garlic breath as Dad and I helped you to the van. I hadn't planned on being quite that close to you after we ate that guacamole.
****This was a year ago. Mom has completely recovered. ****
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