Towel over the head

Posted by Dave...


This story happened a long time ago and to be honest, I can't remember exactly when it happened but it was definitely when Erin was walking/running and I need to write about it because it was very funny.  It was definitely in the early days of the walking/running which probably puts us in the spring of 2009.

And off we go.

Erin has always been more of a goofball than Taylor and has a tendency to put things on her head which is no real surprise for a kid to be doing.  The problem sometimes lies when by putting something on your head, you lose you ability to see anything and then try to do something.

One night I was in the kitchen by the fridge getting something to eat and Erin was near me but more towards the hallway so she was on the other side of the island.  She had a towel in her hands.  Kendel and Taylor were in the other room on the couch watching some TV.  Erin was in a very goofy mood and kept putting the towel on her head and taking it off and laughing.  She might have been playing peek-a-boo with me or something but that detail escapes me and isn't really important anyway.

As I was getting something out of the fridge and not paying attention to Erin for a couple of seconds she put the towel back on her head but this time decided to run as fast as her little legs would carry her.  Did I mention she had a towel on her head which completely covered her face?  She was headed into the TV room but the only problem was she was a little off course.  If going into the TV room meant she needed to proceed on a straight line, she was headed about 15 degrees off that line to the right.  Problem number 2 was that she was breaking land speed records.  There was no way for me to catch up with her by the time I realized what was about to happen.  The only thing I could do was either to wager on whether she would hit the table or the half wall entering the room and start to warm up the car for the trip to the emergency room.

I did all I could to prevent what was about to happen with the only action that I could take and screamed "ERIN, NOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo".  You need to picture this like in the movies and in slow motion because that was what I felt like at the time. 

My actions were of no help.  Erin ran straight into the wall at full speed which I estimate was 65 mph.  It was fast.

The aftermath is a blur.  There was some screaming, crying, praying, asking "why me?" and that was just from me.  Actually, I honestly don't remember the aftermath but much like whether Erin was playing Peek-a-boo with me or not, it is irrelevant to the story.  She was ok after some crying on Mommy's shoulder and no trip to the emergency room was needed.  The towel required stitches but was ok after a couple of weeks and some rehab.

As for me, I will never forget seeing her run across the kitchen and straight into a wall.  It is one of the funniest things I have ever seen and I can say that now looking back on it  :-)  At the time it wasn't so funny but the events of that night have helped me realize that as an adult, you can never understand the thought process of a 1 year old or any child of any age for that matter.