For the last couple of weeks, I’ve found myself feeling especially thankful for our health insurance, for a lot of reasons, of course, but mostly because I have toddlers. Every single day seems to bring a brand-new version of a heart attack when you’re raising tiny humans with big personalities and absolutely no fear.
One of my girls, Autumn, has recently discovered tree climbing. I love that she’s adventurous and having fun outside, but oh lordy…she is already way outside of her mama’s comfort zone.
We have this one tree in the backyard, way past the bonfire pit, and she is obsessed with it. It’s low to the ground, curvy, and basically the perfect beginner climbing tree. The problem is that I can’t keep up with her, and she hasn’t quite figured out how to get back down once she gets up there. More than once I’ve had to stand underneath her and tell her she needed to let go and drop into my arms because she climbed higher than either of us expected.
I’ve tried showing her the trees in the front yard, the shorter ones that are closer and much easier for me to reach, but apparently those aren’t nearly as exciting. She definitely inherited her father’s bravery and my curiosity, which is both wonderful and mildly terrifying.
And tree climbing isn’t the only adventure she’s found herself in.
Last week, when I picked the girls up from daycare, our provider greeted me with, “I almost had to call the fire department because of Autumn.”
Immediately my mind went straight to: Oh gosh. She ran out of the house and climbed a tree, didn’t she?
Our provider laughed and said, “No, she got her head stuck in a dollhouse and I couldn’t get her out.”
…WHAT?
Thankfully, everything turned out fine and she was eventually freed with no injuries, but my immediate thought was: thank goodness we have health insurance.
It reminded me that maybe she comes by it honestly.
When I was two, I broke my arm trying to change the time on a clock. We had those rolling kitchen chairs, and after I climbed up and changed it, I slipped coming down and hit my arm on the counter. That was me at two years old.
So now, raising twin toddlers, I have to constantly remind myself that no matter how much I childproof the house or try to prepare for every scenario, accidents are still going to happen. Kids are supposed to be curious. They’re supposed to explore, climb, test limits, and figure things out.
Apparently they’re also supposed to give their mom a small heart attack every single time they do it.
