1 Over-Zealous Dog + 4 Year Old Child by Water's Edge = ??? (June 22, 2018)

In case you were wondering what happens when your dog jumps down a 6’ embankment into an unsuspecting 4 year old who is happily splashing at the waters edge...

Said child is shocked as she is propelled into the lake by the impact.  She of course panics a little because she goes under.  That look of panic kicks your instinct into overdrive so you dive off the bank like superwoman straight into the lake to scoop her up ensuring her that she is ok and that her mom won't be mad.    

Of course, one of your flip flops stays at the top of the rocky embankment and the other sets sail out into the lake at 50 knots.

Yet, you somehow retrieve your wayward lake-surfing shoe, wrangle two wet dogs and the soaked and shaking 4 year old together and get everyone safe and relatively dirt and mud free to the top of the embankment extremely thankful everyone is in fact "ok" and in good spirits.  You smugly think to yourself, "Whew, crisis averted.  I did good!"

You start to haul your own dripping-self back up the embankment - gasping for breath, and feeling a little too secure.  And wouldn't you know it - just as you reach the top and use your bare, and now throbbing, mud covered foot to spring yourself up the last bit of incline, it becomes evident that you don’t have solid enough footing and you are moving way too fast.

You try to avoid bulling over the soaked and trembling 4 year old and keep your balance by lurching forward in an awkward front-heavy gait that is unable to combat the forces of gravity.  Said gravity ultimately wins after a few seconds of adult terror, as you realize you are going to make direct contact with Mother Earth...with your FACE. 

The 4 year old thinks you’re just being silly and starts to giggle until you roll over, seeing stars, with blood gushing from both of your nostrils.  The same nostrils that absorbed the entire impact of your face-plant. 

The blood seeping into your shirt and down your chest does nothing to quell the child’s uncertainty about the whole situation and you can see the freak-out begin to boil up as tears well up and she squeaks out through a quivering lip, “Are  you ok?”

This is the moment that you have to dig deep.  Are you going to traumatize a 4 year old and prevent her from hiking or playing in a lake for the rest of her life, or are you going to ignore the shooting pain in your nose that is zapping your brain, wipe the tears and blood off your face with the inside of your shirt, ignore the pebbles ingrained into your palms and smile to ensure her it’s all ok?  

The contrived giggle you emit and the smile you work to situate on your face does the trick, and your small companion's face shows relief and she begins scooping up your yard sale of personal effects and helping you up.  

Soaking wet, covered in mud and blood, you begin your wobbly trek back to camp encouraging her to giggle along with you - ensuring her that her mom won't be mad that she is soaking wet.  You can't help but laugh when she surveys you from head to toe and informs you that that even if her mom isn't mad at her, your husband is going to be mad that you are covered in mud!  

Needless to say, it is my worst nightmare to think about causing any harm to a child in my custody.  I was terribly worried that I had completely traumatized my favorite 4 year old by the whole thing.  However, her mom later told be that as she was giving her a warm shower and asking her about the whole thing, she confidently told her, "Autumn saved my life...and then I saved hers!" 

Those sweet words made my heart smile and were that salve I needed for my broken nose and two black eyes!  

My favorite, brave, soaking wet, 4 year old - Quinn 

My dirty dogs - The one on the right, (Daisy) being the reason this all happened! 

Oh, and my soaked and muddy-self in the background.

After a week, most of the bruising and swelling was gone!