A Father's Day I Will Never Forget

The little ones and I let dad sleep in. While daddy slumbered we thoughtfully prepared his favorite breakfast. (Okay, I did most of the work while the kids watched cartoons.) As the bacon began to sizzle, Lindsey and Zach tiptoed into the kitchen to beg for some. “After dad gets his breakfast!” I firmly announced. Needless to say, we fed dad and I went back to cooking. Lindsey snatched up some bacon and made a break for it. I giggled to myself as I pretended not to see her. A minute later I went in to request that she have a picnic on the floor so that our sofa wouldn’t be covered in bacon grease. As I entered the room I noticed that her eyes were unusually wide--panicked you could say. I instantly knew she was choking. “Are you choking?” I quickly asked, but no sound came from her mouth and she didn’t even nod. I spun her around and instinctively performed the heimlich maneuver on her…nothing, all I heard was a little gurgle and me praying in my head. I did it again…nothing . After the third attempt I felt as if my entire body was on fire and as I began the forth time, decided that I would scream “Call 9-1-1!!!,” but before I could, a huge chunk of fatty bacon shot out of her mouth and landed with a large splat on the floor. “Can I have a drink, my throat hurts?” Lindsey calmly asked. She had no idea the severity of the situation at all. Numbly, I got the drink then raced up the stairs to Neil. Shaking from head to toe I burst into tears as I tightly hugged him. It was a full minute before I could even blurt out what had just happened. I have never performed the heimlich maneuver on anyone before, let alone my own child. Thank you God for helping me stay calm I can’t imagine my life with out Lindsey in it.