Mary Elizabeth has a few big “To-Do’s” on her list and one is to go swimming.  We usually go to the beach several times a summer, and have generous friends with pools who entertain us frequently.  However, given Mary Elizabeth’s stability issues with walking, I’ve been hesitant to let her attempt swimming.  It’s not so much the actual swimming which has me worried, but getting into and out of the pool.

Well, this weekend, Mary Elizabeth got her chance.  We visited our good friends Elise and Andy in Andover– just north of Boston– and given the unbearable heat, there wasn’t really anything else to do except get wet.  So we sat by the edge of the pool getting good and hot, and then gradually, step-by-step, with a lot of encouragement and support, Mary Elizabeth walked down the steps and into pool.

It was a moment of triumph and elation – not to mention relief from the Bessemer furnace level heat.  She waded around, swam a few tentative strokes and did a lot of languid lounging.  We maneuvered a float under her and she drifted around the pool for a while, looking quite relaxed.

I knew Mary Elizabeth was going to be thrilled, but what I hadn’t expected was the degree of elation demonstrated by our kids.  They were a little worried as we made our way into the pool, but once we were in, they swarmed around us, swimming, hugging and chatting.  I think it was almost a bigger deal for the kids than it was for us.  I imagine that they were pleased that Mary Elizabeth was getting something she so dearly wanted, but also that it was a “normal” activity in which she hadn’t participated for a while, and which helped minimize the effect of the strokes.  In any event, the kids were ebullient!

Several hours later, we decided it was finally time to get out of the pool, so we carefully ascended the stairs and slowly made it to a lounge chair close to the pool, where Mary Elizabeth sat beaming for the rest of the afternoon.

Of course, there’s no silver lining without a cloud, which in our case was accompanied by a loud bump.   The next morning at 5:45 am I was awakened by a loud thump and then the clatter of falling furniture.  While still asleep, Mary Elizabeth had apparently rolled right out of bed and onto the floor.  Unfortunately she hit the nightstand on her way down and wound up with a split lip, several chipped and cracked teeth and what would later turn out to be a nasty contusion on her jaw and neck.

While the blood wasn’t prodigious, I was worried about the cut lip and broken teeth and felt like she should be seen by a doctor.  So Andy accompanied us to the local emergency room where despite a long wait, we received great care. Because of her history of strokes, they wanted to do a CT scan to make sure there were no bleeds or anything else amiss, as well as to see if her jaw was fractured. Luckily, it wasn’t and there was no intracranial bleeding, but it was definitely an unwelcome addition to our weekend agenda.

We got back to Andover around lunchtime, which we enjoyed outside in the now cooler air and then headed back to New York, with Andy’s advice to say “You should see the other guy!” when anybody made a comment about her appearance.

All in all though, the pleasant memories of a fun weekend with good friends will far outlast any cuts or bruises.