And Then My Son Pierced His Tongue....

YEEEE-HAAAW! We had a birthday boy! We took our cowboy-loving, future-bareback-bucking-bronco-riding son to the rodeo last night. It is off season for the rodeo, but they had two special holiday nights, and one just happened to fall on his birthday. Lucky us! (We had already celebrated his birthday so this wasn't an official party, but it was a nice coincidence that it happened to fall on his day.)

We met our friends there and had a ball. This is the nicest family and we rarely have the opportunity to sit and visit with just them. So, it was a treat to be together. (Isn't that boy handsome in his hat? I just love a boy who is as charming and polite as he is darling. His sister shares in the overall cuteness, too.)

My cowgirl did an amazing job. It was so LOUD in there, but it didn't seem to bother her a bit. I thought she would be out like a light on the way home, but she was too busy talking about "horsies!" and "moos!" to even think about sleeping. We didn't get home until almost 11:30 at night and she was still going strong. She's never been up that late before!

Okay, the real "excitement" came during what they call the dash for cash. They invite all kids, ages 4-12, down into the rodeo ring. Then, they let two (terrified!) calves on the loose with pink ribbons tied to their tails.

Oh sure. You see what's coming next for these poor, adorable creatures. (Note...this is what I feel like some days as a mother. Honest, I do.) The lucky kiddo that manages to grab a pink ribbon walks away with a little bundle of cash.

WELL....my son got right up on one of those wild rodeo beasts and put his hand on the calf's back. At that exact moment, the animal came to a sudden stop and made a hard turn. The end result was that somehow, some way, at some point, he bit his tongue incredibly hard and actually impaled the top and the bottom of his tongue with his teeth.

All I know is that he came out of that ring looking like an honest to goodness cowboy because he was BLEEDING as if he had skipped out on dash for cash and gone straight for the bull riding pen. Ack. I know that the mouth is very vascular and that any little thing will bleed like crazy, so I always TRY to keep my calm in moments like this. But I always fail. I was sure every tooth in his head was a goner.

So...we took a trip to the first aid booth. The guy was INCREDIBLY nice, and made Max feel at ease right from the start. He took one look at him and to make him feel at ease he said, "Boooy, I see men who get trampled on by bulls!! What are yoooou doin' here??" He reminded Max that he had to be tough if he wanted to hang with the REAL cowboys, then sent us on our way with an ice pack. For the two holes in his tongue.

It STILL gives me the willies to think about it. (Shiver!!) Poor guy had a really sore jaw and was pretty uncomfortable there for a bit. But he's tough as snot. And I think he'll live. And he even comes out of the whole thing with a pretty cool story to tell.Max, I hope you had an awesome night, despite your injury. :) Happy birthday, dude.