Tales from the Trail: When Sidewalks Attack

When I can, I like to take the kids with me on a run. It spells my wife a bit, thus making me feel less guilty about going, and it’s fun to have the kiddos along. Often, when I’m out on my weekly long run, one of my older children will join me for my first loop, riding a scooter, so as to more or less keep up. At least in theory.

A couple weeks ago, though, it didn’t work out so well. Kolbe, our oldest boy (age 5), was with me, leading the way down a long, gentle slope, and flying — which he loves. The boy is built for speed. Unfortunately, the sidewalk on which he was riding was not. Suddenly, from one concrete segment to the next, the level jumped about two inches, leaving what can only be described as a 2-inch wall smack in the middle of the sidewalk — just high enough to stop a Razor scooter dead in its tracks.

Which it did. Kolbe, however, kept on flying. Literally in this case, launching several feet across the sidewalk before landing with a thud. Typically, the boy has lighting-fast reflexes (you should see how quickly he can flatten his younger brother), but in this instance, he must have been too shocked by the impending horror, because he seemingly did absolutely nothing to break his fall. And while he was wearing a helmet, the helmet emerged from this calamity entirely unscathed — unlike Kolbe’s forehead, which had a walnut-sized knot on it, complemented by scrapes to the nose and chin.

I rushed to my son, who, albeit bloodied and distraught, was, mercifully, fine (no concussions, broken bones, etc.). And, equipped with little more than my running watch, all I could do was hold him. We were about a mile from home at this point, and he was too upset to walk, so we just waited. I put a call into my wife, and as soon as she was able to get the rest of the crew in the minivan, she came to pick Kolbe up.

Meanwhile, a neighbor who had been working on his car was watching the whole scene. And in a moment, he approached us with an ice pack in hand. It was just what we needed — something to keep down the swelling and to provide Kolbe with a much-appreciated distraction.

A sad episode, but one wrapped in a welcome reminder of the way the Lord’s kindness is often made manifest in His people.

“Love one another with brotherly affection;
outdo one another in showing honor.”

— Romans 12:10