I found my daughter with a jump rope wrapped around her neck Saturday evening. Rob,  Jordan and I were enjoying a late supper in the dining room and Katy was supposedly watching television in the living room. I had heard her cough minutes before but dismissed it as she had been stuffy and still coughing a bit from a cold. It was the silence that followed in those minutes that jump-started the feeling that something was not right and sent me to check. I found her sitting on the couch in tears and terror. She had wrapped the rope around her neck several times and attempted to tie it, thank God she cannot tie her shoes yet, and was attempting to free herself but was only managing to pull the rope tighter. It is interesting how detached and task -oriented you become when faced with a crisis. I realized quickly I couldn’t untie the tangles and began to unloop instead. By the time Rob got to us I had her free but for the coils of rope that were caught in her curls. He quickly undid those and put the rope up on a shelf in the entryway to the house as I assessed her neck and soothed her.

She had frightened herself quite badly but at that moment I was still too concerned with checking for any burns or bruising and making certain that she was breathing properly which isn’t an easy thing to ascertain in a crying preschooler. It wasn’t until later when I had her in bed and asleep that the full impact of the event hit me, and I was more than glad to curl up on the same couch with Rob and receive my strokes and reassurance.

The nest morning she was fine and the fright over though hopefully the lesson learned is not forgotten. The fright is not so much gone for me. Since her father died, I have been…. well….over-protective…but understandably so, I think. I do need to learn to let her take those steps towards independence without always fearing the worst, and it is moments like Saturday evening which make that much harder. I can’t really protect her from anything. I know that. But hopefully I will be near enough to provide whatever rescue and snuggles that I can.