Today we were at the ballpark watching one of our friends daughters play softball.  Ace and I went to the playground.  😀

Of course, Ace is not quite big enough for the playground.  He can’t climb up to get on the slide, and he is not tall enough to jump on the swing set.  So, Daddy gets to play too.

Ace was swinging…Dad was pushing…Ace’s hands keep getting lower and lower on the chain.  He was eventually holding on to just the rings on the swing’s seat and not actually the chain.

He was getting wobbly and I was afraid we would end up in the emergency room.  So, I stopped the swing…raised his hands back up on the chain…made sure he had a good grip…and gave a slight push.

What’s Ace do?  He lets go!

It couldn’t be at the lowest point of the swinging arc.  No no no!  It had to be at the very tippity top.  Right where the swing stops moving forward and start coming back down.

So what happens?  Gravity.  That’s what happened!

Ace fell a few feet and landed on his back in the gravel under the swing set.  Of course I’m the only Dad at the playground, so all I heard were a bunch of Moms gasping for air…like that was going to stop him from hitting the ground so hard.  😀

It knocked the wind outta the little guy, but we walked back over to where Momma was and a sucker made everything hunky dory!  😀

And if you thought that was bad…

We were in the backyard playing.  Actually, I was working and Ace was playing.  I see Ace climb up the ladder on the swingset to go down the slide. He has only mastered this feat in the past few weeks and is extremely proud of himself for being able to slide by himself.

When I see him get to the top I usually give him a big smile and a “Yey!”  Positive reinforcement, right?

So I give him a big smile.  He smiles back.

Then I see is his eyes get big…

I see him falling backwards… (of course all of this is in slow motion) 😀

His feet are above his head…

He’s coming full circle…a full backflip…

Only about a foot from the ground now…

…and SMACK!  His face hits the ladder.

My eyes shut as I see his face bounce off of the piece of steel.

I open my eyes, try to remain calm, and briskly walk his way…

I can hear Ace crying…

Damn this is a long 20 foot walk…

Screw being calm…I’m running…

I find Ace lying face first in the grass…

I pictured black eyes, blood, a broken nose, and a trip to the ER.

I picked him up…roled him over…his face looked OK (for a screaming, slobbering 2 year old)…his arms appeared to be attached and in one piece…by God we may have come out of this one unscathed…but we go inside for a Momma inspection just in case.  😀

Luckily all he had was a nice sized Goose Egg right between the eyes!  No trip to the ER, no black eyes the next day, no blood, no broken bones…just a bit of swelling, a bit of crying, and a Dad whom you would have thought just saw his kid fall off of the Empire State Building .  😀

And people wonder where the gray in my beard comes from…  😀