So, an interesting situation in our house. On Friday, we were swimming, en famille, at a cousin’s place when Nora, our five year old, leaped off the diving board. Julie, her mom, was floating in the deep end to catch her and help her swim to the side. Nora overshot her target, and her chin came down hard on the side of Julie’s head. Nora was okay; Julie was not. She was diagnosed with a mild concussion, and has been somewhat disabled since then. Her mind feels foggy, and she’s frustrated, and a little freaked out, by having to think about how to put together certain sentences.

She’ll be fine after a couple more days, but still, this has been a learning experience for us both.

“If this is what you get from a mild concussion, I hate to think about what a serious concussion does to you,” she tells me. “By the way, Lucas is not going to be playing football.”

OK by me. I once had a more serious concussion when a psychotic older boy jumped me from behind in middle school, and knocked me out cold. The school never called my parents, nor took me to the doctor. My mother found me on the sofa that afternoon, babbling out of my head. Doctors diagnosed a concussion. My 15 year old attacker eventually was sent to some sort of state home after he was discovered to be an arsonist. Anyway, yes, it’s freaky to observe how fragile our brains are. You kids be careful out there.