Tyler is okay

I am not posting a picture, because if I were Tyler, I would be mortified.  But then, if I were Tyler, I would probably have insisted on not going to school at all today.  After all, when you are in the fifth grade, your looks matter a lot to you and to everyone else.  Tyler is my daughter who has always fought me violently whenever I have tried to do her hair, and now she is begging me to do it.  She is definitely more conscientious about how she dresses and all of that now, too.

So, when I received a text from my mother yesterday--which I couldn't view because I was out of data range in Arches National Park at a business retreat--and a voice mail from the school principal describing Tyler's injuries, I was very concerned but pretty much helpless.  Thank goodness they had been able to reach my mother and she had a vehicle to get to the school and pick up Tyler.  Once I was able to call Tyler, her usual perky, mile-a-minute voice answered me back like it was all no big deal.

No big deal that she had a split lip, bleeding gums, a monster goose egg and swelling right side of her face, not to mention a developing black eye and two very scraped up knees.  She wasn't crying; she wasn't complaining.  Actually, she sounded like she was thrilled to be getting some quality time with her grandma, especially since she was able to finagle Grandma into helping her start another quilt project.  She wasn't even really upset about what had happened to her.

What happened to her?  Those of you who didn't already hear or who weren't there when it happened are probably wondering.  This is the story told to me by Tyler.  She was playing kickball with a bunch of kids at school.  As she ran to the base, a boy threw the ball at her to get her out.  He hit her legs, tripping her and knocking her right into the base, which happened to be a metal pole.  Personally, I am thinking having a metal pole for a base is not such a good idea.

She was pretty bloody then, between the scraped knees and her bleeding mouth, not to mention the goose egg making her face swell.  Grandma Gail got her home to her house, cleaned her up and kept an ice pack on her face for a while.  Tyler didn't really want to be bothered with it, but Grandma said it did help bring the swelling down.

Once I got home, she was developing a pretty large black eye, above and below her right eye.  Her lip was not bleeding, but it had swollen quite a bit, as had the entire right half of her face.  A friend of hers was encouraging her to take ibuprofen to reduce the swelling, but since she wasn't really in pain at that point, I didn't think it would be that helpful.

This morning, she looked like she had been on the losing side of a terrible boxing match.  I told her she didn't have to go to school, but she wanted to.  She is braver than me.

Thanks, everyone who called to make sure she is okay.  She really is.  She is kind of like the Energizer Bunny, you know.  She just keeps going and going.  I think she is even enjoying the fame and attention she has been receiving since it happened.  I love my Tyler.