Friends

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When the wind is knocked right out of you

At our homeschool co-op this week, King (in 6th grade) was playing on the playground between classes with many of the other students. He loves climbing all around the structure. I didn’t see it happen, but at one point, his foot slipped and he fell down right on a metal bar, hitting him just below his ribcage.

He couldn’t breathe.

The wind was completely knocked right out of him.

He panicked.

Two of the dads came and got me and stayed with us as I checked to see how he was doing. He was very shaken up and quite teary-eyed as he sat on the grass. We transferred him over to a shady location to cool down a bit and for him to just rest and catch his breath. I could see he was struggling.

After assessing how he was doing, I went to let his home economics teachers know he would need to miss his class this week.

Just a few minutes later, King changed his mind and decided he wanted to give class a try. After all, they were learning how to cook eggs in various ways this week (eggs benedict, poached eggs, sunny-side-up eggs, etc.). King loves this class. It’s his favorite (which I find is funny, because I teach one of his other classes, hahaha!).

Just about 5 minutes into class, the teacher’s assistant came to let me know King was “not doing well at all.” He was clammy, crying, and crumpled up on the cement floor outside. Even though I was a ways away, I could see she was right, he was not OK. I didn’t know what all was wrong, but he looked quite pale and miserable with his red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. I later learned that he stood up in class only to collapse onto the ground and begin sobbing. He couldn’t catch a deep enough breath without it hurting his rib area, which brought more trauma.

The teacher and the teacher’s assistant both stopped and prayed for him in that moment.

One of our homeschooling co-op mom’s is a local family doctor, so I had her check him to see if we need further assistance. What a blessing to have a doctor on campus!! She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, he likely just bruised his stomach/ribs. I asked about his not feeling well and being clammy and pale, and she said that’s very normal after a trauma incident. The adrenaline kicks in and can cause the body to go into a bit of a shock mode.

Slowly, but surely, King was able to settle down once he was laying flat with a cool breeze blowing on him. Standing or sitting up still made him feel pretty junky.

Throughout the remaining hour at co-op, we had quite a few kids and mommas ask how he was doing. Everyone was so supportive, sensitive and comforting in our time of need. King rested while laying on a couch for the remainder of co-op.

Even upon our return home, we had 5 different moms call or text me throughout the day to see how he was doing. Y’all, it truly is a beautiful thing to have friends to come alongside when we needed the extra love and support. To have such dear friends check in to make sure he was OK … it brings tears to my eyes as I type this. I am so grateful.

I know I already touched on this yesterday, but having wonderful, supportive, caring, and compassionate friends in our lives truly is one of the most wonderful treasures.

As I finish typing up this post, King is in his bed, sleeping and resting for the night. He is a bit bruised and slow going as he moves about, but he seems to be doing just fine at this point. <sigh of relief>

To God be the Glory, protection from serious harm and great friends He has given us!

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Friends are treasures

Recently, I had the complete joy of spending time with my friend over a couple of cups of iced coffee. It was going to be just a simple little coffee date. Get away from the house duties, have a bit of space from the kiddos, enjoy a tasty beverage, and connect in a simple way. Nothing flashy or fancy or full of crazy expectations. Just a brief afternoon to connect, face-to-face, in real time.

We headed on down to a local coffee shop that has an antique cash register, comfy couches throughout the various seating areas, a cute chalkboard menu, and fun décor surrounding. It was quiet. It was humble. It was perfect.

I thought we would be gone for maaaaybe 2 hours total, while she let her kids know she’d be gone for about an hour.

We were both wrong.

After what I thought was about an hour, I happened to look at my watch to gage our timing and realized … we had already been gone for 3 hours. Three!! That might not seem long to many of you, but when you do not anticipate that length of time when looking at your watch, it’s quite surprising to see it.

We were sweating in the heat, chatting away, listening, sharing, asking questions, sipping our coffees, telling stories, laughing, grieving, celebrating, learning more about each other … and before we knew it, our entire afternoon had flown right on by. I loved every minute of it. Our time together was so sweet and so easy that we didn’t even realize how quickly it had gone.

I tell you all of this because, well, friends are treasures.

After dropping my friend off at her house, I drove home with a lightness in me. Joy. Connection. Laughter. Sharing. Trust. Friendship. Sharpening. Encouraging. Learning. Growing. What a true gift to have friends to “do life with” and to enjoy a beautiful 3-hour long coffee date. It was a lovely afternoon that carried me right into a lovely evening (though I spent it at the hockey rink surrounded by smelly hockey gear, haha!). Friendships help us be immune to the junk around us. We can face our days and nights with a new and refreshing outlook when we’ve connected with a friend in a meaningful way.

If you haven’t done so recently, I encourage you to step out and connect with a friend. It doesn’t have to be anything spectacular, just a time to get together. I am so grateful my friend had asked me. I was more than thrilled and ready to say, “Yes, let’s go!” Sometimes, we just have to be bold and willing to take that step (either in asking or in accepting the invite).

Yes indeed, friends are treasures. They are not treasures to hide away, but to go out with and enjoy life! They are meant to be discovered as friends are incredibly valuable in our lives.

This begs the question, “What treasured friendships are awaiting for you to discover?”