Some of the best lessons...

Some of the best lessons in life come from experience.

I tell my kids all the time things like:
Don't use sticks as swords, you'll poke someone's eye out!
Watch your fingers; you will slam them in the door!
Don't throw snowballs, you'll hurt someone!
Don't walk behind/in front of the swing when someone is swinging, you can get hurt!
and they don't listen to any of it. Just more mom screaming, what does she know anyway? Then off they go to walk behind swings, throw ice balls, or run and battle with sticks.

They don't realize that the life of a kid is full of danger. Limbs can be lost or broken, eyes and be hurt, and fingers and toes damaged all in the name of fun. Yesterday, I watched Molly spin herself silly. Just as the words were about to leave my mouth..."don't...," she stops and proceeds to fall backward into the corner, slamming her head. Before I can say anything else, she turns and topples head first right into the wall. It was like an episode of Tom and Jerry, minus the rake! Instead of saying "I told you," I stifled my chuckle and hugged her tight while oozing soothing words. The bumps on her head will serve as a better warning than my words ever could!