Eli and I stopped by Cold Stone Creamery tonight for some ice cream and became wrapped up in a life-or-death drama that profoundly impacted both of us. In front of us in line, a young woman fed her seven month old baby boy some ice cream from a tiny plastic tester spoon. The boy bit down on the spoon, causing a splinter to break off and lodge in his throat. As I attempted to remove the shard, and as I held the child in my arms, it became so clear how fragile we are. The fear in the parents' eyes was excruciating.
Eli bravely allowed me to assist without interfering. After the firefighters arrived, Eli sat outside and waved to the family as they drove behind the ambulance on their way to the hospital. Eli was unable to eat the ice cream I had purchased to help him get his mind off what he had witnessed. He wept quietly for a few moments and said he was going to worry about the baby all night long. He placed my hand on his heart to show me how the incident had caused his heart to pound. I hugged him and we through the ice cream in the trash bin.