Saturday, June 6, 2009

Better than a Staple in the Head


Last November we moved into a new house because Tanner was sleeping in the hallway. There just wasn’t enough room for him anywhere else. And he only weighs, like, 25 pounds. Standing, he only takes up half a square foot. It’s not like he’s chunky—I mean, nobody’s ever asked him to buy a second seat on Delta.

But if you take 8 people and all their stuff and ask them to live in a small house, it’s bound to get a little awkward.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten out of bed in the dead of night to do whatever it is you do in the dead of night—only to step on somebody’s head.

And nothing can bring a dad a pang of guilt like stepping on his child’s head.

Imagine sleeping peacefully on the floor when suddenly your dad’s size 10 medium gets planted on your skull. And dad isn’t exactly light-footed at 3 o’clock in the morning.

Which is all a long way of saying that the White family is a bit neurotic about square footage.

So last November we moved into a bigger home and promptly spread ourselves luxuriously throughout the house. No more running hurdles over little people sleeping in the hallway.

Which is also why it’s mighty ambitious of us to go camping—because there’s still 8 of us—and we’re all getting bigger—and our Coleman Trailer has exactly 32 square feet of floor space.

For those of you who think that 32 square feet sounds like a lot, let me remind you that that’s a space 8 feet long by 4 feet wide.

Which is just enough space to play a really tough game of Twister.

You have to ask yourself what would prompt us to want to pack up all the camping gear, cram ourselves in the Suburban, drive 4 hours down the interstate—just to stuff ourselves in our little trailer.

We were calling it Spring Break 2009: Zion National Park.

And Murphy’s Law was in full force for this one.

An hour before we were scheduled to leave, Tanner, our 3 year-old, fell and split his scalp open. If you’re a parent you know the drill. Dad thinks it’s not so bad, but Mom thinks he needs stitches.

DAD: “Shoot, it’s not that bad… Just keep holding that blood-soaked rag against it. It’ll stop. Sometime.”

MOM: “But he needs stitches or he’s going to have a scar for life!”

DAD: “So what if he has a scar…it’s in his scalp. His hair will cover it.”

MOM: “But what if he goes bald someday?!"

DAD: “Well, that’s what comb-overs are for. Besides, if he goes bald that’s your fault. It comes through the mother, you know.”

MOM: “Well, maybe we can super glue it. I’ve heard that works.”

DAD: “Are you serious?”

MOM: “Yeah…I heard it somewhere.”

DAD: “Okay, that’s too weird. Go take him to the doctor and get some stitches.”

So Lori takes the kid to the doctor while the rest us sit glumly and tap our feet because we’re all ready to go and time’s a-wastin’.

And I’m sure you know the drill at the hospital. Fill out some paperwork. Then fill out more paperwork. Then wait a really long time while the rest of the family is back at home sitting glumly and tapping their feet.

Then it’s finally time for the great procedure. The thing that Lori literally crossed town for. It’s like climbing the proverbial mountain to consult the wise guru.

We have an injured child here and we need your expertise oh Great One!

DOCTOR: “Okay, we’ll just put a staple in it. (CHACHINK!) There. All done. You’ll see a bill for $485.00 dollars. It will arrive in your mailbox before you get back home where your family is sitting glumly and tapping their feet. Thanks for coming in!”

Later, I’m looking at Tanner with a single glittering staple sticking out of his head and I’m thinking that if he ever goes bald he can thank me to the tune of $485.00 that there’s nothing to mar his shiny noggin.

And I’m thinking, Sheesh, I have a stapler….

So, off we go down the interstate—our Suburban looking like a General Motors pin-cushion—bikes sticking out at odd angles—the inside like Hurricane Katrina—pillows, blankets, and bare feet all around….

Lori opens a bag of sandwiches and passes them around—no mayo for Jason. We’re listening to an MP3 mix on the stereo that I’ve imaginatively called Good Songs that randomly switches from Black Water to Yo Ho, a Pirates Life for Me to Hotel California, and then to Lori’s all–time favorite, Muskrat Love.

Okay, so that’s not her favorite. And maybe that’s because I sing along and stare at her with a twinkle in my eye.

By the time we finally arrive at Zion National Park we’ve sung along to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, A Bug’s Life version of Beauty and the Bees (you have to hum that one), Johnny Cash's I've Been Everywhere, K.C. and the Sunshine Band's Shake Your Booty, and Doby Gray’s Drift Away.

And the sandwiches have been reduced to crumbs.

Now let me be clear that we go to Zion in April for the sunshine.

Not the snow.

Which, according to Murphy’s Law, is what we got.

So instead of having thousands of acres of national park as our home-away-from-home, we had 32 square feet of trailer.

So we busted out the Twister game.

Just kidding.

Poor Natalie was beside herself because she came for the lizards and toads—and cold-blooded animals aren’t exactly fond of the cold. She did manage to catch a couple of lizards that had missed the “Feeling Sluggish? Perhaps it’s THE SNOW” memo. But the toads were another story.

And I suppose that’s what dads are for. When you just can’t bear to break your daughter’s heart you bundle up, grab a flashlight, and go out into the frigid night hoping that there are such things as Eskimo toads.

And somehow it’s okay that you don’t find any. The important thing is...you tried.

And I suppose it’s okay that Tanner had to get a staple in his head—and that it snowed during our Spring vacation—and that we ran out of propane for the furnace in the trailer—and that the sway bar on the trailer wasn’t working right.

The important thing is we did it.

And we actually had a great time.

7 comments:

Sally said...

Oh, my stars! The White family sure does have some great adventures. I'm sure your kids will remember these trips with such joy - everytime they tell their own families in the future, they will smile! I sure did! Thanks for sharing.

Shelley said...

wow! What an adventure! You take great pics and I enjoy your writing. By the way, super glue does work. We've done it a couple of times on the same child after having that child get it done at an emergency clinic. She had tripping issues for awhile. - shelley

John Knotwell said...

That was the funniest blog entry ever. Thanks for sharing it with us. Charlotte had her head super-glued about 6 months ago. It really does work, quite nicely I might add. Of course, superglue is a lot more expensive than a staple at roughly $1.50. You can probably get a box of staples for that.

Anonymous said...

haha, I was staying at your place one night when you stepped on Ryan's head while he was sleeping in the very small upstairs hallway just outside your bedroom door. That is, Ryan sleeping on the floor just outside your bedroom door which was next to Connor's crib which quite filled the very small hallway just outside your bedroom door! Hey. No on the superglue that I use to repair the plates Warren breaks. The chemicals would be a big-time stinging ouch & irritant to open-skin. But the FDA-approved "New Skin" is what the parents of SIX need in the first-aide corner of their new house. Depends on how deep or wide the damage, but it's actually very fun for you to play ER doc with "New Skin" on those clean yet would-be two to three-stitch wounds. During the past year I took care of some decent-sized forehead wounds above the brow-area on both Bryant (sledding crash) & Warren (sharp wooden corner of the ottoman). This "New Skin" ad brought to you by Keri B. Bullock.

Anonymous said...

-pardon the typo by Keri above! I meant Tanner's crib of course not Connor's. I made the mistake of calling Tanner Connor so many times day when we came to visit in May. But no, the tall Connor teenager did not sleep in a crib just outside his parent's bedroom door in Provo! (Their home wasn't THAT small! haha)

Rebecca said...

What a treat that was to read. Had no idea you were such a good writer. I was thoroughly delighted and got to know you and your family a little better.

Love, Your "Old" Cousin Becky (Oregon)

Jason and Diana said...

i always LOVE your blog! great pictures and great writing!