I protect my children from dragons; -the real, the imaginary, the conceptional and the ones found only on the inside. That's my job, you see- I am Mom.
Wednesday, Amie met a dragon while walking down the street to visit with neighbors. I, mighty Mom, stood on the front porch and watched her walk along the sidewalk- vigilantly watching for any strangers-in-cars-dragons. I watched as Amie greeted a neighbor boy, and I watched as she bent down to pet his small dog.
This quote from a book has always stayed with me, "You know how it is when you're doing something you think is important and you miss the thing that's really important. And so it was that we missed it..."
And so, I missed it this time. The dragon, disguised as a Chihuahua, jumped up and bit Amie in the face. I'm thinking at least twice. No bark, no growl, no warning.
She has 5 stitches, mostly on the upper lip. She's recovered very well. The only lingering reminder, beside her face, is her fear of walking in front of this neighbor's house. Amazingly, she is not afraid of dogs.
Mom has recovered too, except for the lingering guilt for watching Amie look the dragon in the face..and failing to see the dragon. The what ifs...what if I had walked with her? What if I had taken them to Disneyland that day like I had intended? What if I had instructed her not to pet small dogs, or any dogs, unless I am right there?
What if the Dr. didn't do a good job with the stitches?
Mom-guilt is a powerful thing.
The photo above is of Amie writing about her ordeal in her diary, veery phonetically.