A Little Blood Never Hurt... Wait, Isn't It Dirt?

As you may be able to imagine, this week has been a bit difficult, especially for poor Eva Bug. Thursday wasn't any easier for her. As we were playing tag in the Junior Gym at the health club, she tripped over her own feet, landing on her nose. She started crying right away and began to push herself up only to have another little girl trip over Eva's feet and fall on her, pushing her back to the ground with a great deal of force. Eva started crying louder and didn't attempt to get up.

I ran over to her, picking her up only to see blood quickly coming out both of her nostrils, from around her teeth, and the top of her lip. It was alarming and you could tell she was quite afraid of what was happening. Quickly, I took her into the bathroom and set her back on her feet. Her bloody little hands clung to my arm as I tried to get her to look down while I grabbed at toilet paper to catch the dripping blood.

It would have been quick and easy if Eva wasn't so trained to

blow into a tissue whenever it is placed by her nose. During a nose bleed, this is the wrong thing to do. It only makes matters worse. We worked together on it diligently until the bleeding finally stopped. Slowly, I cleaned her up. And then myself. It was quite a process and she was clearly shaken by it.

A little while later, she went to sit on the little couch to watch a movie. There were two other children next to her. Before I could do or say anything, one of the smaller children reached up, grabbed a hand full of hair, and pulled. Hard! Eva was immediately in tears. The child's parent was embarrassed and extremely apologetic. My shirt was covered in her tears and her snot.

We went home. Xander ran in the house and let Charlie out of the crate. Eva came in a few seconds later. She was overjoyed to see Charlie running toward her until she was body checked, smacking the back of her head into the island. Later that night, she fell, landing with her leg at an odd angle and her wrist bent backwards. For the rest of the day, she demanded to be carried pretty much everywhere. When she did start to walk on her own, it looked as if she was on a boat. Her feet were wide apart and her arms were out. She glanced around wildly, as if she might get knocked over at any second.

I'm glad to say she made it through the day in one piece. That night' sleep seems to have wiped away her fear of walking and gravity. Although, she still thinks she deserves to be held a lot.