Tough as nails

This afternoon I was busy planning a meeting and Levi took advantage of the fact that I was not paying close attention. He decided to live life dangerously and ride his bike in flip-flops. Now, I know that many many many kids ride their bikes in flip-flops but not mine. I tell them horror stories about the things that can happen to their feet, so they grudgingly put on their shoes. He slipped by me today though. Eric and David came running inside saying "we need to get band-aids." "hurry up!" "He's bleeding, there's lots of blood." They didn't even think to get me involved until they were headed out the door with band-aids. I was proud to see them working together to take care of their little brother but I was terribly curious to see what happened. I hadn't heard a peep out of Levi. I walked outside and found Levi by the end of the driveway, bike laying over in the cul-de-sac, flip flops on the ground and he was standing up looking at his toe bleeding on the road. The neighbor boys were huddled around him saying repeatedly "I can't believe he's not crying!" "How is he not crying?" I looked at Levi and his toe and asked what happened and he told me "I was riding in my flip flops"

I gave him a piggy back ride up to the bathroom (stopping in the kitchen for the camera, of course) and set him on the counter. All he said was that it really hurt. I had a hard time getting a picture of it because his little leg was shaking so badly. So I did what any good mother would do and I exasperated him further by asking him to hold it still so I could get a good picture. He couldn't stop the shaking, of course, but he was perfectly patient with me and he tried. I am, in case you were wondering, fully aware that these boys may be permanently, emotionally damaged by my lack of excitability and sense of urgency about such matters. Anyway, once I finished bandaging him up he limped to his shoes, put them on, and limped back outside to hop on his bike and ride some more. Tough as nails that kid! I'm so proud:)

And he did have his helmet on after all!!