LOVE: Sometimes You Just Need to be Near

My voice cracked as I sputtered the words out, “Elaine, I have something to tell you. Everyone’s fine, but we took a trip the ER last night.”

She immediately began to cry, “What happened? Zina, tell me what happened?”

I’d been trying to blur the event out of my mind. Hearing her tears brought the whole experience back into focus.

The scream. Turning her body over to see the blood on her face. The confusion in her eyes.

The phone line was silent.

“Quinn was bit in the face by the neighbor’s dog last night. She needed stitches.”

Together we cried on the phone. She knows, she’s a mom.

We talked about the details of the accident and the extent of the injuries. As we hung-up, we finalized what time we’d be meeting the next day to go skiing. I collected myself in the bathroom and washed my face. I didn’t want the girls to know I’d been crying.

A few minutes later, I told my husband, “I called your mom and let her know the situation.”

“I know,” he replied, “She just called me. She’s on her way.”

The thing is, when something terrible happens to someone you love, sometimes you just need to be near.

She and Quinn spent the entire afternoon sewing and working on felt Valentine envelopes.

See the final project here.

Her patience as she taught her to work the machine, her dedicated attention, the distraction … it is EXACTLY what Quinn needed that day.

A grandmother is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend.

This photo of them together, with the Band Aids covering the stitches, makes me feel so grateful.

Grateful the puncture wound was in her temple, not her eye.

Grateful we live near a hospital.

Grateful we have healthcare.

Grateful the dog’s vaccinations were up to date.

Grateful the dog didn’t thrash and the wounds were clean.

Grateful to just have her here in front of me, safe.

But what also overwhelmed me as I sat and watched them together was, I kept thinking about how very lucky we ALL are to have such an amazing Nana in our lives.

A person who just comes, even when you don’t ask them to …
A person who loves your child so much, they just can’t stay away …

How lucky are we?

Thank you Elaine, for all you do. We love you more than words could ever say.