Hey, you. You're not around as a spare kid, really.

One of my several time daily prayers is that E2 lives to adulthood. He's such a ray of sunshine around here, always lightening the mood & making us smile (or shake our heads.) Yet there is a reason I call him my Odie child. I swear, if it sounds fun he acts first and thinks later if at all.
His other name has always been "danger baby." Scaling roofs at a tender three years of age, cutting plugged in electric cords at six, and now...at almost eight, he's only on his second Urgent Care/ER visit.
His first attempt this week was a fail. He and some sibs snuck into the garden tools and tried to remove the ends of his pointer and middle fingers. I am convinced his fingernail preserved his ability to flip someone off as a teen. He bled. He cried, but he obeyed and iced it, and while it's not pretty, it was never swollen and the bleeding stopped....so he got to take Tylenol and go to bed.
The very next day, on marathon errand Friday, he succeeded in throwing the entire family off. We returned from our thrift store shopping victorious..a 7.99 microwave to replace the one that had exploded..and I had to dash off to the school to pay fees and find classrooms so I could map my route for back-to-track night. I have 4 kids in the building this year, so conference sign ups are a track event...as well as getting to know the new teachers and listen to the 6th grade game plan. I had succeeded in my mission, and was really enjoying getting to know the 6th grade science teacher when our oldest huffs in.
"And there's the man of the hour now!'
"Mom, you have to come home now. E2 cut his foot."
"Is Dad still conscious?"
"Barely, but he needs you to take care of it."
I thought this was going to be a wash and bandage job, but the dear boy had managed to almost sever his little toe. Stupid sisters not recycling their stupid fruit cans. His timing was impeccable. Our busiest day, with football practice, transporting dressers for two sibs, and a funeral that evening....not a great time for the unexpected. At least he didn't succeed in severing the toe.
He's okay now, but his lack of caution has cost him a week of football, due to the stitches.
We love ya E2. Please try to stick around a while.