Brendon spent the weekend with us.  Friday afternoon Keith and I went to the bank to sign the loan papers.  Since I wasn't going to get home in time for Pam to drop off Brendon at 4 p.m., Keith called her and told her to bring Brendon to town.

Pam met us in the parking lot.  Brendon and his car seat got in my car.  Keith went back to work, and Pam went off to her Tae Kwan Do class.

The sun was very bright and shining in Brendon's eyes.  There was a hand towel in the back seat; so I put it in the window.  We drove a few blocks and Brendon was hollering the whole way.  I glanced back and saw his tiny fingers struggling to reach the towel.  So I hit the down-window button, and the towel disappeared.  I thought maybe it flew out the window because Brendon was still hollering.  I pulled over and stopped.  I gave him the towel, and he happily played with it for the rest of the car ride home.

Brendon had a fussy weekend.  I think his teeth are really bothering him.  Pam brought over some teething crackers on Saturday.  Brendon sucks on them until his slobber is well mixed.  Then he drools creamy slime all over me.

By the time Pam came to pick him up on Sunday afternoon, he missed his Mommy.  I offered to keep him while Pam went to the store, but he wanted to go with her.  We packed all his belongings into her car, gave our customary cautions, and waved goodbye.

I asked Keith to lock the door before we went upstairs because we weren't going anywhere for the rest of the night.  Keith watched television, and I sat down at the computer.  At 5:02 p.m. the telephone rang.  I picked it up, but Keith was already talking to Pam.

I met Keith in the hallway, and asked, "What did she want?"

"She had a wreck," he said.  "They are on University Avenue."

I quickly put on my shoes and grabbed a jacket.  I didn't take time to get my purse.  We jumped in the car and Keith sped to University Avenue.  The College Road intersection was clear, but we could see a bunch of cars stopped near the Geist and Johansen Expressway intersection.

As we got closer, we could see that the accident was right in front of the old University Park school.  Keith pulled in the parking lot.  I could see Pam holding Brendon on her hip.

I walked over to her and tried to give her a hug, but she squealed in pain.  I offered to hold Brendon, and he came to me.  He appeared stunned and in a trance, but he wasn't crying.  Pam was on the verge of tears, though, and her whole body trembled.

Pam's Taurus looked like a boxer with a bloody nose.  She had rammed into the back of a pickup who had stopped for a car that was turning left.  The air bags filled the entire front seat.  I was glad that Brendon was in the back seat.

I asked Pam, "What happened?" and she said, "I was driving down the road, and the next thing I knew the air bags hit me in the face."

A train crossed University Avenue which stopped traffic for awhile.  The police officer helped me get the car seat and Brendon's diaper bag and other stuff out of the back seat.

Two ambulances came.  The paramedic declared the baby 'okay'.  Brendon had a red spotch on his chest where the car seat harness rubbed.  Pam would need to go to the emergency room to check out the pains in her chest.  I was having a few pains of my own as I felt flashbacks to my auto wrecks.

The ambulances drove off with the drivers of the two wrecked vehicles.  Keith retrieved the paperwork from Pam's car and talked to the officers.

I felt bad for Brendon because he wanted his Mommy, and he saw and felt how upset she was.  I know he didn't understand what was going on.  He finally started fussing and crying while I was talking to Dad on the telephone.

Keith took Brendon and I home, and then went to get Todd.  Todd drove himself to the hospital, and Keith went, too.  Keith barely got home when Todd called, "I want you to bring Brendon to the hospital."

When I got to the emergency room parking, Todd was waiting for me.  He lifted Brendon out of the back seat, still in his car seat.  I gave the diaper bag to Desiree and waved to Pam's Dad.  Todd told me that I didn't need to wait; so,I decided to go home.  I was feeling a little surreal myself, and I felt like I was going in to shock.

Pam and Brendon were released from the hospital.  They are staying out at Pam's Mom's house.  Pam said she was doing okay; although she is feeling sore.  Keith arranged for the Taurus to be towed to Todd's cabin.

I am feeling very depressed.  I don't know if the feeling comes from seeing Pam hurt, Brendon frightened, the car smashed, or from re-living the time I was hauled off to the hospital in an ambulance.

Brendon came over today.  We were sitting on our bed together watching cartoons.  He likes to bounce, and after awhile, he would stand up.  Now he lets got of me and stands unaided for about 10 seconds.  The second time he did it, he gave himself a standing ovation.  He can now sit up, crawl, shake his head, "No," clap his hands, stand unaided, and wave hello and goodbye.

For a snack, I gave Brendon a rice krispy treat.  Usually I only give him a small piece of one, but this time, I gave him the whole thing.  When he was finished mauling it, the whole bedspread, his legs and clothes, and my hands and arms were sticky.  I got a wet washcloth to clean up the sticky.  He wanted to play with it; so I gave it to him.  He would put it in his mouth, chew on it, and then pull it out.  Then he would cry.  Judging by the amount of drooling he did, I'd say he is getting another tooth.  That's hard to believe when he has 8 teeth already.

When Mom came to pick him up, he was all smiles again.  Grampa Keith asked him, "Do you want to go home?" He shook his head, "No," and then he waved goodbye.

Today I was doing laundry while I watched Brendon.  This involved several trips between the bedroom and the washing machine.  Brendon was sitting on the livingroom floor playing with toys.  I wanted him to follow me down the hall.  Pam had a zipper sandwich bag full of Cheerios for Brendon's snack.  I tossed the bag about 10 feet from Brendon and he crawled quickly toward it.  When he would get about a foot from the bag, I'd move it another six feet.  After two or three rounds, Brendon had crawled the entire length of the house.

Then my little helper proceeded to crawl over to the laundry basket and sit down.  He grabbed a shirt, shook it and then tossed it aside.  Then he would move on to the next garment.  One of my shirts he particularly liked.  When it would disappear under the clothes, he would jerk it out, hug it, and throw it back on the top of the pile.  Grampa Keith says that Brendon already knew how to empty laundry baskets, but it was the first time I'd seen him do it.