Scott broke every bone in his body at one time or another.  His collar bone, shoulder, knee, wrist, leg, arm--and knocked his front teeth out as well.  And that's just what I remember.  He was a walking disaster looking for a place to happen.  However, walking is not the right word.  Running, full speed ahead, was how he encountered life.  Do something, then think about the consequences later.   Like I said yesterday, fearless.  Or just plain stupid, I'm not sure.

Once ,when he had just had a cast removed, we warned him not to use his skate board on our driveway while we were gone for the day.  Sure enough, he found somewhere worse to use his skateboard.  I got a call from Dr. Collins--who was a friend, and who had put a cast on some part of his body that day--there were so many I can't remember what he broke that time:  "Janie, the next time you and Ken are leaving town, call me.  I'm going to put Scott in a body cast before you leave."

And that doesn't even count the concussions.  One concussion was from sliding into home trying to beat the throw.  He took it head first, straight into the catchers chest and was knocked out cold.  Ambulance came, (not his first ambulance) took him to the hospital and seven hours later when he woke up, his first words were, "Was I out."  Yes.  Out.  And out of it.  That kind of intensity earned him baseball honors, but never slowed him down.  All State Oklahoma--which is a miracle he lived to collect.   I can't tell you how difficult it was to stay calm around him.  I never knew what he was going to do next.  He didn't either.

And he never did the same thing twice.  I'd say, "Don't do that again."  But I couldn't think of all the things I needed to tell him not to do.  He was always a jump ahead of me.

Then, nine years later, we had Jon.  Calm, quite, observant, cautious, but unusually strong.  Once when he was being tormented by a boy at school, I told him, "Jon, there's a time you have to fight.  You have to stand up to bullies."  His teacher followed him to the playground the next day and saw him pick the kid up, pin him to a wall and say, "Leave me alone, or I'm going to have to hurt you."  No one ever bothered him again.  He made All State as well, at nose guard and fullback.

Nothing I learned raising one child never helped me raise another.  They are all so different.