Get out of my way...

This story came to mind a while back and I didn't think I had shared it before.  Hopefully there is a statute of limitations on parenting mishaps...

I remember it was a nice day and it must have been a Saturday.  The kids and I were at home.  I'm going to guess that Lane was maybe three or four and Madolyn was about seven.  Someone Jay worked with at the time (and his wife) had come up to go fishing at our pond (right in the back yard).  I was cleaning the house.  The kids were outside.  You know how that goes...of course, they're outside and visible because there are 'guests' over.  Madolyn asked if she could ride her fourwheeler in the yard; I said sure, just be careful, blah, blah, blah.  I did forget one specific piece of advice...which I'll get to here shortly.

I had the inside doors open and I could watch from the living room/kitchen area and look out windows at almost every direction to keep an eye on Madolyn and Lane.  Also, listening for the engine of the fourwheeler was something I paid attention to.  Of course, when you're vacuuming, it's hard to hear much over that noise...

Pretty soon Madolyn comes barging in the house from the garage and she's screaming.  I can also hear Lane screaming.  They're both hysterical, and although I haven't seen Lane yet, I can make out from the shouting that Lane is bleeding...and that Madolyn had run over him with the fourwheeler.  (That would be the rule I forgot to mention specifically...DO NOT RUN OVER YOUR BROTHER WITH YOUR FOURWHEELER.)  Silly me.

I reach Lane and see that, yes, he is bleeding from the mouth, but after rinsing the blood off (and there wasn't really that much, honestly) there was no major damage.  His teeth weren't loose or missing.  There was no gaping wound anywhere.  No bones protruding.  Awesome.  Just lots of tears and hysteria (from both of them.)

After getting everyone calmed down (myself included) I asked for details...such as, Why did you run over your brother with the fourwheeler?   Simple answer:  He would not get out of the way and I told him to move or I would hit him.  Oh, well, if that's what happened...geesh.

All the while, I'm thinking that this couple outside fishing must think I'm absolutely the worst mother ever.  I'm not outside watching every move my kids make, letting them ride ATV's without serious supervision, etc.  I did holler out to them that no one had any major damage, just in case they were wondering. 

Fortunately no serious injuries...and maybe a little lesson learned there.  Madolyn was crying almost as hard as Lane.  You gotta love it.