Battle Wounds

I knew yesterday would come at some point. I knew I’d have to face the day that every parent dreads. Yesterday was the day I went to pick Coco up from day care and found that at some point during the day she had been hurt. I walked in to find a little face scabbed and red with scratches.

While, by that time, Coco was fine and in good spirits, it took my breath away to see her like that. These are the first scrapes and scratches she’s ever had, so that made it all the harder. Her daycare provider came over and explained that Coco had been playing with a toy phone when one of the older girls (2 and a half) decided she wanted the phone. Coco was disinclined to give it up, and so the other little girl grabbed for the phone, which Cora was holding up by her face, and they fought for it. Apparently the other little girl had very long fingernails and so by the time our daycare provider could reach the skirmish the damage had been done.

And the damage is hard to look at. One large crescent shaped owie on her cheek, one on her nose, two on her lips, one on her forehead, and another (smaller) one on her cheek.

While I realize that these things can happen at daycare, it doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. Thankfully, our provider cleaned Coco up, and put some Neosporin on all of the owies. But now I have to deal with all of my conflicting emotions: guilt for not being there, fear that the scratches will scar or become infected, anger that it happened at all, frustration in not knowing what to say to our provider in a situation like this, and understanding that kids are not bullet-proof.

For now all I can do is tend to the owies with the utmost loving care, keep them clean and well salved, and kiss as many boo-boos as I’m asked to. I know this is the first of many scabs, scrapes and scars to come, but – as my mother told me many times – the first one is never easy to get over.