You see I had taken both boys shopping for groceries. I put 2 year old Benji in the cart seat and let 4 year old Danny jump up on the side where he delighted in yelling "all aboard" and pretending he was Mr. Conductor.
We'd just entered the store and the cart was empty. It was a fairly old metal cart I remember and spying a bag of small oranges across the way, I started walking away. I'd taken maybe 5 steps and as I turned back my heart stopped. The cart was tipping over. Danny was trying to jump off and it was falling and Benji was trapped. I don't know how I raced with my heart stopped. I wish I could say it didn't tip over. And that Benji's head did not hit the ground. But I can't.
I did get there before it fell all the way. I did slow its descent but could not stop it. I did see Benji's little head strike the floor. The store wasn't very crowded and everyone ran over. I pulled the cart up a bit and got Benji out. He was in the throes of a silent cry which ended in a horrible wail. I just hugged him for I don't know how long. A man at the store ran to get a bag of ice.
After he'd calmed down he wanted to sit inside the basket (not in the seat he'd been in.) He'd already spotted some "baby bananas" he wanted and I was so amazed by his resilience.
Throughout all this, my sensitive 4 year old was crying too. I actually had to carry him as we got our groceries and went back to the car. He was very upset about the cart. I knew how he felt.
I'm so filled with gratitude that Benji is okay. We watched his eyes for signs of a concussion. We watched for unusual sleepiness--no sign of that at bedtime. Our dear sweet boy is fine. And I will never, ever, ever, let either boy ride on the side of a cart again. And I'm thinking they won't ask any more either.
Thank you God. Thank you. -Monica
1 comment:
I'm very glad he's ok. I'm sure that's happened to a lot of people- I hope you were able to forgive yourself.
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