Boy Meets Board

Once upon a time, in a land known as the deep south, a boy named Lane was born. As Lane grew into a toddler, it became clear that he was, in fact, a wanderer. (This is a character trait that I would not wish upon the child of ANYONE, as this has been known to cause SEVERE PANIC ATTACKS in young mothers.) His wandering ways caused his mother to become extremely cautious(or overprotective, according to some). She even resorted to "leashing" her child in crowded places; this was a practice she always swore she would never use on a child. It took many years for this young mother to loosen up.

And then Boy Met Board. Skateboard, that is. And the board met a hill. Lane was perfectly content to ride his board down the hill on his behind. But Lane's father insisted that he try it standing up. Dad{who learned to skateboard at the age of 26 (another hilarious tale for another time) with some kids from the youth group at church} performed a demonstration, and then Lane proceeded down the hill. And Lane's arm met the ground.

(And now for the FUNNY PART!!) The overprotective mother was cool, calm and collected. The you-should-really-loosen-up-and-let-the-boy-be-a-boy father was in hysterics. Dad ran into the house screaming. "MEGHAN!! MEGHAN!! LANE BROKE HIS ARM!! WE GOTTA GO!! NOW!" ( It really loses some of its effect in writing.)

Mom calmly got some ice. We loaded into the car. Dad floors it out of the driveway. Mom had to tell Dad to slow down. His panic wasn't helping. Lane's sisters were so entranced by their father's demeanor that neither of them spoke for the entire drive.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Mom held poor Lane's mangled arm as they made their way inside, while Dad parked the car. As soon as the triage nurse saw Lane's arm, he was taken back to a trauma room ( despite a waiting room FULL of people). Dad and the girls waited in the waiting room, while Mom and Lane met with the doctors. After Lane was prepped for "surgery"( the hospital referred to his closed procedure as surgery), a nurse escorted Mom to update Dad of the situation. The look on Dad's face when he heard the words "put to sleep under general anesthesia" and "taking him back to surgery now" was PRICELESS!! (Well....maybe not quite priceless. After all, Lane did suffer a broken arm, and I am sure the hospital bill is going to be outrageous.)