The nearing end of summer signifies a great change my family will soon embark upon. No, not just starting school. Something that impacts us even greater.
The battle between summer and childhood is coming to an end.
The war that breaks out each year around the days when it starts to get warm is not one necessarily of violence or animosity. The attacks are not planned and there is no general leading the fight. It is merely incidents and accidents that weave their way through little children brought on by the force known as Summer.
Summer has a cruel way of luring children outside to play. It makes them run, jump, ride their bike and roller skate. And then without warning it knocks them down and laughs in their face.
This is where I come in. As a mother to 3 children I am constantly tending to a scraped knee, elbow or bump to the head. It seems my role as infirmary nurse is never done and my supplies of band-aids, antibiotic ointment and ice packs are always in need of replacement.
It doesn’t help that my two older children have contracted a strange addiction to band-aids and require them for every little injury regardless if there is broken skin or blood. The band-aids act as a sense of security and my children apply them generously to everything that even remotely hurts from small bumps to stubbed toes.
If band-aids were an indication of a wounded soldier my children would definitely earn a purple heart.
In this war between Summer and childhood there is no white flag to wave. There is no truce to sign. You must just wait it out until the chaos subsides and we enter the autumn and winter months when there are fallen leaves and snow to soften the blows.
Until next year when Summer rears it’s ugly head in our part of the world, lures children outside to ride their bikes and then knocks them to the asphalt with a roar of laughter and the fight between the two parties starts again.
Here is a picture I took of Bency the other day. Notice the band-aids on his eye, knee and a toe!
* Also, check out MomTimes4’s cartoon today that she did with the idea I submitted!
Motherhood Is An Art 
Oh Mel, I think all kids love band-aids, especially the ones with cartoon characters on them, the brighter and bolder the better! I do hope you don;t have to march into battle too often too protect your army. Great post. 🙂
Thank you Jen! My kids do love those cartoon band-aids. I never buy them though because they go through a box in an hour. There is suddenly all kinds of imaginary injuries when a box of cartoon band-aids enters the house!
We go through a lot of band aids too around here. By the way, I posted your cartoon this morning! 🙂
We have the same problem over here. A banbane as little Landyn calls them are always the cure to every problem. Yesterday I was picking up the toy room after they went home and noticed Wanda the doll had one on her bald head. I wonder if she got nicked when someone cut her hair!
haha!! Poor Wanda! At least they had the heart to fix her up!
Bency really does look like he has been through a war. Between the band aids and the shell shocked look on his face. I hope the bandaids were all that was needed in this war.
The funny thing about the band-aid on Bency’s eye was that it was a red mark about the size of a pin. He insisted on having a band-aid on it and the next day we had to go to swimming lessons. I begged him to take it off so he wouldn’t look like he had been in a fight. He swore he still needed it so I kept wondering what the swim instructor thought!
Now, you know why the swim teacher was giving you dirty looks. What have you done to that poor child?
You’ve got a knack for breathing life into situations that others (me) would just sigh and be frustrated with. I think you’re the bee’s knees. Speaking of knees, poor Bency! 😉
Thanks Steph! Oh trust me I sigh plenty when I actually do slice my finger chopping up vegetables and then I can’t find a band-aid anywhere.
Too funny! I was almost happy when we discovered Mr. T had a latex allergy, cause it meant an end to the bandaid brigade!
and I love the cartoon done on the idea you submitted! 😉 Spot on!
Thank you Kate! Maybe I should just tell me kids they have a latex allergy so I can cut down on having to buy so many band-aids!
hahahahaha!
SO it isn’t just my daughter that has a band aid obsession? That is good to know. She will make up injuries by just pointing to a place saying she needs a bandage. If I let her she would have at least 10 visible and unnecessary band aids on at any time!
Oh yes, my kids have faked plenty of injuries to get band-aids…especially if they are the cartoon ones!
Haha, that is a great picture of Bency. I’ve given up buying band-aids with cartoon characters… somehow mysterious “injuries” would appear just so they can put on the Band-Aid!
That is exactly what happened at our house too! I quit buying them a long time ago but Santa did bring them each a box last year and I think that might have been one of their favorite presents!
LOL! 🙂
Yes, Summer is definitely the culprit of our children’s war wounds! In fact, I always have Neosporin handy. This morning, my son accidentally dropped the tube in the toilet. Lucky me, I got to fish it out!
Hugs to Bency. Hope his eye area heals soon!
How ironic that you had to fish a germ killing product out of a germ infested area! Don’t fret about Bency…he only had a small red dot on his face that really did not constitute the need for a band-aid. It was slightly embarrassing taking him out in public like that!
That one under the eye doesn’t look like fun to remove!
haha!! You are exactly correct on that! He actually put it on and part of his hair was stuck in it. When I ripped it off it pulled a few hairs out too! I hope that teaches him not to put anymore band-aids on his face!
Oh yes, sounds very familiar!
In our house they always want a band-aid for any little scratch or bump. But then after they get one on, they want to take it right off about 5 minutes later. Hardly worth the whole peel-and-stick ritual, but I do like the little moment alone with one of my trio to get the “wound” dressed. 🙂
At least your kids don’t leave the band-aids on too long. I constantly have to check and make sure the kids don’t leave them on for more than a day which is quite a chore just in itself. Once Iris left one on her thumb for like a week and it started to eat away at her skin!
i love this picture so much, it really says it all. having raised 3 girls, i know of what you speak. somehow we all survived. also with teaching my kinders now, i know that bandaids are a huge part of life and are worn like badges of honor. b
They truly are a badge of honor especially at school. There have been plenty of times that I will ask the kids what the most exciting part of their day was and they often have replied that they got to get a band-aid. I also remember in my daughter’s Kindergarten class they had weekly jobs and one of them was “medic.” That person had to hand out band-aids to anyone that needed them. My daughter loved that job!
Your post is spot on! My 2 eldest are also covered in bruises, cuts, scabs, and scabs that have been knocked off and re-scabbed. My 5 and a half year old fell off her bike two days ago onto her teeth and currently has a swollen lip, swollen black gum and 2 wobblyish teeth. I ended up taking her to the emergency dentist at 8 in the evening! They always want plasters whatever the injury and sometimes they need plasters to keep the plasters on and end up with 3 or 4 in one place. And yes, they too take them off about half an hour later and say ‘look its all healed now!’ They will cry and cry as if they were dying but as soon as they get a plaster the crying stops and all is ok! Magic! They look as if they have been taking part in some type of street fighting, there’s hardly a square inch of them that doesn’t have some kind of injury. Summer time and the livin is easy!
Oh my goodness! Your daughter definitely suffered the wrath from Summer! I’ve never heard band-aids called plasters before! My kids also instantly stop crying when a band-aid is applied too. I guess that’s why I’ve never put up too much of a fight of them having so many. If it stops the crying…I’m good with it!
Oh my gosh, my kids are the same way with bandaids (except for Big Trouble, who acts like bandaids are from the devil)! 🙂
Cesar hates band-aids too! There have been a few times where he is legitimately hurt and bleeding and he won’t let me put one on! Maybe he has keyed into how crazy his brother and sister look!
I love the bandaid picture. 🙂 Maybe your kids could audition for some commercials! Teach them the jingle!!!
I had to sit here for a long time and think about what the jingle was. It finally hit me “I am stuck on band-aids because band-aids stuck on me” or something like that. Okay, I’m on it!
That’s it!!!!! Looking forward to the video! 😉
What a great picture of your “soldier of summer”–looks like he gave it his best! I forget how early school starts down here–L went back on the 14th, and that was a week later than his old school! Anyway, I think bandaids and ice packs are great, too–if it takes that little to help them get up and going again, then I’m fine with it! Little A is very much into gymnastics and ballet these days, and I think her practice of turning our family room into a gym/stage is the reason her shins are dotted with bruises! She kisses her own ouches and asks for an ice pack pretty quickly, but doesn’t need it for longer than a minute (thank God!). I hope your family enjoys the transition back into school! –Alison
My kids love band-aids and their Elmo ice packs too! I like how you personified Summer! Great post Melissa! Have a fantastic week!
Awwww… poor little Bency! So true about the bandaids. Charlotte is 13 but is the biggest baby and is always in need of them! Emma really only uses them when the need arises. Great writing Melissa. Lovely descriptions of summer and all.
I spent years searching for a Band-Aid when I really needed it because they had been used up on invisible boo-boos. My son has now moved on to the Ace Bandage. I find it moves weekly to new areas of the body!
So true. Although seasons don’t affect my son’s ability to injure himself 🙂 we get it all year round!!
this is a great post Melissa, so true about summer and band-aids! My nephew that is 6 years old wants a Band-Aid for everything, for every scratch 🙂 months ago I tried to put on Nate’s finger and he cried and wanted me to remove it right away! but soon I’m sure, I will have to start stocking up on these for him too! (I used to love band-aids when I was a kid too!) ha!ha!
What! A flesh-coloured band-aid? I was expecting something like the ones I have in my cupboard here…Spongebob, Ratatouille, and Sesame Street, of course. Hehe.