The harder they come

Gus threw caution to the wind yesterday and it almost blew his hand off. I looked up just in time to scream his name as he had gotten distracted and forgot he had lit a firecracker in his hand and as he let it go, it went off, giving him sort of a concussion blow to his hand and an hour of hearing loss. I told him he was lucky, and that he was apparently not listening to the 17 hour lecture his father and I had given our captive audience in the back of the van as we were heading to our friend's party.
It takes a second for life to change, and in that I see possibility or tragedy all wrapped up in a package. Every once in awhile, it's importunate to have a reminder that we are up against a lot in our little corner of the world.