Four Feet More

Today our son did something so crazy, so unexpected, so completely stupid (there’s really no other word for it) that...well… frankly, I’m still stunned.

Propped up against the wall of the landing at the top of our stairs was an 18x18 inch square collage frame in which we had lovingly placed pictures from our family’s trip to the pumpkin patch. We got some really nice shots of Vika and Eamon, and wanted to add them to the family “gallery.” We were going to hang this frame today, which is why it was propped up against the wall.

To you and me, this object would look like an ordinary picture frame. To Eamon, apparently, it looked like a sled. While putting something away in his room upstairs, he spied the frame and decided to have a little fun. Eamon laid it down at the top of the stairs, sat upon it, and then proceeded to slide down the stairs! There was a weird bumping noise, followed by the alarming sound of glass shattering. I ran up the stairs, and there stood Eamon, over the broken frame, the glass underneath him splintered into about 50 foot long shards. I picked him up quickly and removed him from the glass daggers and then Jeff and I stood there, shocked by what Eamon had done. Such an act was completely outside of our realm of anticipation.

While I am very upset over the loss of our frame, I am even more shaken by all the horrible things that could have happened to Eamon as a result of his little “joy ride.” Luckily, he came away from the incident without so much as a scratch.

A word to the wise for those of you who are parents to boys – never fall into the trap of believing you are one step ahead of them. Because once you are lulled into this state of complacency, they will surprise you with some new, and usually dangerous, scheme.

Beware!!!!