Doesn't it figure? Last Saturday we had Katie Mei's six-month post placement visit with the social worker to satisfy China's requirements. And the week leading up to the visit Katie Mei managed to bash her forehead in the exact same spot four, yes FOUR, times.
The first bash happened on a Friday when she was outside playing while Daddy worked in the garage. He turned on the air compressor (which about scared the snot out of her) so she took off running and fell on the asphalt driveway. She got a lovely blue goose egg and a scrape on her forehead and nose. Then, the next day, our family participated in a church workday. While I was washing windows in one of the Sunday School rooms with Katie Mei in tow, she pulled on the back of a chair toppling it right down on top of herself. The frame of the chair hit her right on her lumpy forhead. The goose egg grew more purple and swelled.
Two days went by and the bruise started to get more tear-drop shaped. Then on Monday, as she was outside playing and having a blast with M & J, she went down the slide while Jacob stood at the bottom to catch her. Now Jacob has a forehead of concrete, and he's quite used to using it to catch walls, floors, and sidewalks. But Katie Mei had never met Jacob's forehead before. So as she came down the slide, their fates crossed, and her beckoning goose egg met Jacob's indomitable frontal lobe. His skull was no match for her tender little lump, and needless to say, her pain was heard and felt by all who witnessed the event. Even a bag of frozen Ore-Ida Tator Tots couldn't stop the tears and discomfort.
Finally, by Wednesday, the goose egg, which I was starting to believe was from the Goose That Laid the Golden Egg, was beginning to calm down a bit. The scab on her nose was about gone, and her forehead was a paler shade of purple. I was certainly feeling more hopeful that we'd get past this, and by the weekend we'd be in the clear.
Well, it wasn't meant to be. On Saturday morning, just a few hours before the social worker was to visit, Katie Mei and Merrilee were playing in the toy room. Suddenly I heard a crash, and then a cry. Merrilee shouted that Katie Mei had fallen and hit her head directly on the edge of the drawer of the toy table. I knew then that we were not going to be able to hide the remnants of the week's worth of bashes under her thin bangs.
So far we've gotten no calls from the Department of Social Services. And no police or members of Family Services have come to our door. We might be safe. But Katie Mei...I dunno. She might need a helmet.
The bruising has now gone down into her eyes, and she looks like she's been in a gang fight. I'm hoping we can get to next weekend without any more forehead issues. I don't think I can take it anymore.
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