It was an extraordinary moment for all the wrong reasons. Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I saw Sidney brought to immediate tears because of the infliction of pain and Sloan simultaneously cowering in fear. Relax, it all turned out to not be that serious.

Before the incident on Sunday afternoon, Sloan and I went to the mall for pretzels and icees.

Last week I mentioned that Sidney has been on bed rest since mid-January. Prior to the Super Bowl, the three of us were all goofing around on the bed. Sidney was sitting up, right in front of Sloan and I who were sitting shoulder-to-shoulder. Sid’s phone rested between the three of us. For whatever reason, Sloan picked up the device and it slipped out of her hands (well, technically she threw it) and flew three feet to my wife’s lip.

Crack.

No, the iphone didn’t crack but it sure sounded like bone did. Sidney immediately started crying.

I first thought about the possible damage. I got Sid to open her mouth and blood had started to pool around her bottom teeth. However, I was able to surmise that her teeth were all intact and the bleeding was probably from the impact to her gums. I then thought about my wife’s poor luck. She has been stuck in bed and in great discomfort for the past three weeks…why did she have to deal with this? But my thoughts of sympathy didn’t stop the crying. Thankfully, my in-laws were over. Sid’s mom is a retired nurse so I ran and got her. She took Sid into the bathroom to treat her injury.

I then thought of Sloan. I had set up a couple of our kitchen chairs in our bedroom so we can keep Sid company while she is resting. Under one of those chairs was where I found Sloan, curled up with tears rolling down her cheeks. I pushed out the chair and picked up Sloan who was shaken. I immediately started to tell her that mommy was OK, knowing that it wasn’t the time to scold her for throwing the phone. I took her into the living room to sit with my father-in-law so I could join Sid and her mom in the bathroom.

I had misdiagnosed the injury. Sid’s lip had been busted, not her gums. There was a gash inside her bottom lip that didn’t look like much fun. However, it was a welcome relief to Sid who thought at least one of her teeth had been broken upon contact.

Sidney’s concern turned to Sloan. After a long hug between the two, we brought her back in bed to assure her that everything was fine while also educating her that phones aren’t meant to be projectiles. Sid then made a joke that the police would be at the house tomorrow (insinuating that they would be after me for spousal abuse). A minute or two later Sloan said something that made us feel just a tiny bit sad for her.

“I don’t want to go with them,” Sloan sobbed.

“Go with who?” we answered.

“The police.”

We made it clear to Sloan that cops weren’t going to take her away. She was sweet for the duration of our time in the bed, taking it upon herself to hold Sid’s ice pack up against her lip.

As crazy as it sounds, I could relate to how Sloan felt as she hid under the chair yesterday. When I was probably two years older than Sloan, I accidentally shut a car door on my grandma’s fingers. Even though that happened years and years ago, I still remember feeling awful, mortified, and embarrassed.

As children we see adults, especially our close relatives, as invincible. We can’t fathom the fact that we could possibly hurt them physically, so when we do, it is jarring. Sloan’s reaction proved how much she loves her mommy and that she has a conscience. Also, it made me believe that she probably won’t be throwing a phone any time soon. Don’t Blink.