What a day!

What a day, indeed! I started it in Austin and ended it in an ER in Fort Worth. Jordan, Jacob and I left Austin about 10:30 and pulled into my driveway before 1:30--good time, considering it was a trip of way too many trucks and erratic drivers who sped up and slowed down for no reason and one who wavered all over the road, crossed two lanes to exit and nearly went into the ditch on the exit ramp.We surmised that at noon he was still at last night's party. Jacob survived the trip by screaming, shouting, laughing, singing, and throwing toys which he then demanded back. I may not have been driving but I was busy. Just after we passed Hillsboro, he fell asleep, woke briefly, then slept again, and we whispered. When I came in the house, I found myself whispering to the cat.
Jordan was strong and tough on the highway today and did a great job of driving, in spite of her declaration that she hates hates hates being between a concrete divider and a truck. But tonight her strength fell apart. She called about five asking how to separate two hot dogs from a frozen pack, and I advised running hot water on them and then using a table knife to pry them apart. At 5:30, she called in tears saying she'd cut herself and needed me to take her to the ER.
Of course, I flew out the door. Luckily I was dressed to go out for dinner and not in my sloppy clothes. On the rushed way over there, I thought about dinner. I had my mouth all set for a Lebanese meal. Second time. First I had it set for that meal tomorrow, when friends were coming in from Granbury. But they had a strange tale: a tree blew down across their drive and in trying to get a loaded truck around it to deliver merchandise, they got the truck stuck in the mud. Don't count on us was the message. So I rearranged my thinking and thought I'd persuade Betty to go there tonight. Instead, I found myself driving in frantic haste and cursing the fact that I was hungry. Once I got to the ER and they spirited Jordan away I also cursed the fact that I hadn't brought a book.
On the way to ER, the story came out: she cut her little finger and ring finger on her right hand right at the crease of the joint. It bled so profusely that she felt faint, which scared her because she was alone with Jacob. So she called 911 and the ambulance came. The EMTs didn't know for sure if it needed stitches and were trying to load her up, asking what hospital she wanted. Wait! She couldn't leave Jacob! So she called a friend to stay with Jacob and me to take her. We got to the ER at six and left a little before nine.
Long story short: the cut on the little finger was 2 cm. deep. They took three stitches in it, and one in the ring finger. She left the hospital with the two fingers splinted and a huge bandage all around her hand. She has a wedding to go to tomorrow and began making up a more picturesque story than cutting hot dogs about how all this happened. She reminded me that when her brother Colin had half his spleen removed and a large scar slanted across his abdomen, he told people it was a shark attack (he was then running a scuba hotel on Grand Cayman).
Me? I came home, gratefully, fixed a BLT and splurged on ice crea with chocolate sauce and two glasses of wine.
And that brings me way away from the important news of this week, which was that we had a great time in Austin, the kids loved playing together, and we wish we stayed longer.