Charleston: Coming Home

On Tuesday we had planned to visit Magnolia Planation (on something like 500 acres), about which I was excited: the oldest unrestored gardens in America, an exquisite 19th century home, train and boat tours, a petting zoo, a real swamp with crocodiles, and five slave dwellings each restored to reflect a different period of time. What was there not to be excited about?!

Unfortunately, after breakfast Mary experienced a deceptively slow-speed collision with the stroller and earned herself her first black eye. It puffed up so fast and so black-and-blue, thus resulting in about 30 minutes of crying. Mary is a lot of things but stoic is not one of them.

We checked out of the hotel, loaded in the van, and surveyed our circumstances--Mary still crying at that point. We decided the most conservative option was to drive straight home and not risk spending nearly $100 to tour the plantation (which should properly take about a whole day--or more!) while exhausted children cry.

Announcing that we would be going home instead of visiting the plantation resulted in a whole new round of weeping from Mary until she cried herself to sleep, so at least she got a nap on the drive home.

We were happy to be back at home, sweet home. With the laundry machine humming and fresh groceries being put away, disaster struck again when somehow Mary while playing dropped a wooden bench on her own little toe. I'm pretty sure she has a broken toe based on how fast it turned black and blue. Plus, it appears swollen and a bit crooked. Again, a good 30 minutes of screaming ensued.

I note that today is the Feast Day of Guardian Angels. One might wonder if Mary's guardian angel took the day off as a holiday, but, of course, that can't be true! So, I imagine her angel saved her from two worse fates than what she endured.