TheBanyanTree: Sort Of About A Mixer

[Julie Anna Teague]

Quoting Sally Larwood <larwos at optusnet.com.au>:

> By the way, I ended up missing Christa's 21st birthday as I was in hospital
> waiting for the plastic surgeon to re-attach my ring finger - it was cut
> through the bone.  One of my friends who went to the party didn't believe
> that I was in hospital, and insisted on calling me in the hospital to check
> I wasn't just hiding, waiting to jump out of Christa's birthday cake.  I
> also had to pull out of a play that was about to start rehearsal as I
> couldn't drive and anyway, the shock of the accident meant I was non compos
> mentis for weeks after.  I would never have been able to learn the lines.

Yeesh.  That's horrible!  The "safety" feature of my ancient food 
processor (inherited from someone who'd had it probably at least 30 
years) is also broken, but it actually makes it harder to turn on.  I 
guess that means it's even more safe.  I still use it constantly.  But 
your story reminds me of my oldest son's third birthday party.  Six 
days before his birthday party, to which the whole family was invited 
over for a meal, I got a call that there was a little boy just born who 
was waiting for me at the hospital to come and be his mom. I can still 
recall the joy of that moment and that long awaited phone call!  
Adopted or not, newborns are a challenge, though, and as the birthday 
party approached, I'd had no sleep for a week.  My family wanted to get 
together anyway, to see our precious new Seth as well as celebrate 
Andy's birthday, and my mom volunteered to bring lasagna so I wouldn't 
have to cook.  All I had to do to help out was to stand there and slice 
the bread for garlic toast.  I was so exhausted and foggy-headed that I 
sliced right through my finger with a very sharp serrated bread knife!  
In hindsight, I should've gone for stitches because that sucker would 
not stop bleeding.  As it was I just wrapped it up and toughed it 
out--there was simply too much going on to make a trip to the 
hospital--but it was a memorably deep cut.  We kept the knife--it is 
obviously a highly effective knife--but I shudder every time I see it 
and I rarely use it.  And little did I know at that time that Seth 
would not sleep through the night for the next 18 months, nor would he 
take naps during the day, so foggy-headed became a way of life for me!