Superdad

Is your neighborhood littered with little air gun pellets the way mine is? All the little preteen urchins on my street have these fake firearms that shoot tiny pastel colored spheres, which accumulate in the cracks in the sidewalk. Sure, its all fun and games until someone shoots an eye out...

My children call these things "balls." As in, "Wait, Mommy, a ball! I have to stop and pick up this ball!"

Colin found 2 more "balls" at the park this morning. I had an all-afternoon planning session for work, so lucky Anthony got the kids all afternoon. They set up an elaborate track with their wood blocks and were racing their balls across it, until Colin started crying, "I can't get my ball!"

Great, thought Anthony, "Where is it, buddy?"

Colin wailed, "In my nose!"

Yes, Colin stuffed the little sphere, just slightly larger than his own nostril, up into his sinus. Anthony told me, when I finally called him back on a break, that he'd even used my little "pliers thingy" (aka hemostat) but it was too far up there to get out, so they were headed to the emergency room.

The waiting room was as expected, packed with sick children. Anthony sat with two bright, healthy children and waited. Fortunately, he rechecked Colin as they waited, and noticed the ball had descended. By pushing Colin's cheek out, mashing on his nostril and digging it out with his pen, Macgyver-style, Anthony actually extracted it himself.

A nurse saw him and said, "Way to go, Dad!" I second that! Way to handle the kids on your own and save us $150 in ER fees!