Doctor Madeleine

The evening was cool, pleasant and peaceful. The big kids were outside with Superdad. Superdad was setting up his new lawn edger and trimmer and I was doing dishes with only one child making noise and messes (yes, all you non-parents; that is peaceful). I was absorbed, physically, in bubbles and plates but mentally I was dreaming of our academic goals for next year.

All of a sudden my reverie was shattered by the front door slamming shut and Madeleine tearing up the stairs at top speed. "What are you doing?" I called after her.

"Getting a Band-Aid!"

"For what? What did you do?"

She came racing back down the stairs, wild-eyed, with a box of Curious George Band-Aids, a quarter full. "Daddy cut himself!"

Oh. OK. Superdad had probably cut his finger or skinned his knee and needed a Band-Aid so he wouldn't get blood all over everything and had asked Madeleine to run in and get one. Madeleine ran out and a few seconds later came frantically running back in again.

"What is going on," I asked again.

"Daddy cut himself," was Madeleine's explanation.

"How?"

"With the lawn edger!"

"With the edger?!" Now I was concerned.

To shorten a rather lengthy story which involved different children telling different tales, Superdad was setting up his new edger and trimmer, excitedly playing with his new toy so that it would be all set for its first trip out when Hank became interested in what he was doing. Hank walked up to Superdad, and the edger, and before Superdad could see what Hank was doing, Hank simultaneously asked, "Daddy, what does this button do?" while actually pressing the button in question. Wouldn't you know it, the button he was so curious about was actually the "on" button and Superdad's calf was treated to its very own edging.

Superdad is fine. All his cuts were surface cuts and although he's sore, there are no big problems.

But there were numerous cuts in a rather large area and, when Madeleine saw his leg (she witnessed the incident), gushing blood. And her solution? Curious George Band-Aids. An almost empty box of two-inch long Curious George Band-Aids.