Aka

Elsa, Queen of the Snow (recipient of THE DRESS) formerly known as Cinderella, henceforth known as the wood fairy who wasn't afraid to mix stripes with argyle when she dressed herself this morning.

Today's post lunch hike with six kids took us through the enchanted forest to the waterfall of certain doom, aka the woods on the way to the small rapids by the old grain mill. So many sticks and stones went in the water that the creek is now a foot higher.

Today was certainly a buttload better than yesterday, aka the shittiest day in my ENTIRE LIFE, when coming home from the corner store, a ten year old boy hurtled out from his hidden alley on his bike and slammed into the side of my car with incredible force. He never stopped to look and I had no view of the alley because of the lush growth. I felt my life as I know it end, right there, in that moment. I could not see him after the impact and when I leapt out of the car screaming no no no nooooooooo, I fully expected him to be perished under my wheels. As soon as he got up, I saw that he had a helmet on, and he started reassuring me that he was OK which made me grab him, hug him and sob, which made him sob. With no apparent injury except a bleeding knee, he wanted me to just leave and let him walk his broken bike home, in fact, he begged me to just let him go. That did not happen. Now it's a waiting game to make sure that he does not exhibit any latent signs of injury and also who will have to pay the $250 deductible that the insurance doesn't cover to have the shattered side view mirror and a deep gouge on the wheel well fixed.

Two seconds earlier and the front of my car would have launched him into the air. Shudder. I wish I knew how to flush out my brain so I can sleep tonight.