Daddy Took My Leg

Elias is quite a bit more outgoing than I am and I find myself cringing inside on many occasions as he loves to chat it up with every. single. person. he sees. Don't get me wrong- I love that he is so friendly. But I guess I can be a little introverted among strangers. But in Elias' world.. strangers? What are strangers? I love this about him.

So usually any venture out in public has me calling Chase on the way home to relay all the Elias stories. Elias will talk to everyone he passes, and is especially encouraged if someone actually makes eye contact with him.

There is usually a certain theme that he shouts out to passersby."Hey! Do you like tattoos? I'm into tattoos!" or "I have a monster truck at home. Do you like trucks? Do you have trucks? Do you want a truck? Do you want to see my truck?" or any other random thought in his brain. Could be about the cheerios he ate for breakfast or the dead skunk he saw in the road 3 months ago. There's just no tellin.

We just had a unique two days without Elias' prosthetic leg. Daddy Prosthetist was finalizing his new leg (which uses parts of the old leg) so had to take it with him to work.

(As a side note, it was interesting to see Elias get so sad about not having his leg. Since we had been talking about it so much I wasn't prepared for his grief. He would burst into tears throughout the day, bemoaning the fact that daddy took his leg and how mean that was or how sad he was. This is the first time in a year that he has gone a day without his leg and it is really a part of him. The sadness wasn't related to not being able to walk- he enjoys crawling around- but a very real attachment to his leg. )

Yesterday at Walmart, Elias was wearing shorts so it was obvious to people around us that he has only one leg. He was chatting it up with a lady in the garden section asking a million questions about her flower selections when he suddenly got very quiet and said,

"Daddy took my leg."

Complete silence and uncomfortableness overcomes the woman. So Elias repeats himself.

"Daddy took my leg."

The lady was being so kind but obviously confused that this kid was telling her that his dad had taken his leg. All she can see is his one leg hanging out of the cart and obviously missing the other. Who knows the stories she had concocted in her head!?

Elias never cracked a smile so I stepped in and explained that he was referring to his prosthetic leg and his dad was making him a new one. She nodded her head politely as if she had had the same conversation with a million other toddlers and then I soon pulled my cart into the next aisle to relieve her from this awkward conversation. :-)

By the way, the new leg is pretty cool. My camera is broken but we'll try and post pictures soon.

Bite Back

I just read here (a blog that makes me laugh out loud on a regular basis) that today, April 25, is World Malaria Day. And through the Bite Back campaign, people can give a one-time donation of $10 and provide a mosquito net for a child - or a family, if they’re all sleeping in the same place - who otherwise would have no protection from this completely preventable disease. That $10 will also provide education and treatment for people who are already sick with malaria.

What an easy, inexpensive, and great way to make a small dent in a worldwide problem yet a significant impact in the life and future of one family.

Click here to donate $10 that will provide a mosquito net for a child (you can donate more than that if you feel led). Each net lasts three years, so for $3.33 a year - less than a penny a day - you can save a child’s life.

Deep Thoughts

I was shopping at Walmart with Elias yesterday. I was deep in thought while deciding on shower curtain rods (who knew there were so many choices!?). Apparently, Elias was too. He suddenly spoke into the silence, "Mom, I was meant for bigger things."

What? Where did he come up with something like that? I asked him where that came from and after some thinking, Elias remembered that that's what Scuffy says in the classic Golden Book, Scuffy the Tugboat.

Cute! And what truth there is to that statement. I mean, there's so much more to life than shower curtain rods! :-)