The Most Unexpected Injury Ever

Newsletter 2019-06-24

It was supposed to be a meaningful father-daughter moment. Instead, it ended with blood and crying. Never plan anything when it comes to children. At least that way, the disasters will be a surprise.

My nine-year-old, Betsy, joined a running club at school this year. They practiced running two mornings a week, and at the end of the year, all the kids competed in a mile and a half race. I wrote an entire chapter in Bare Minimum Parenting about how it’s a good idea to treat your child’s athletic career with loving neglect, but if there’s only one game or meet a year, you really can’t skip it unless you have the ultimate excuse, like you died or you’re away on a trip to space. I had a pulse and wasn’t an astronaut, so I was at the race, cheering for my kid. It was surreal. I suddenly felt like my own parents, who occasionally watched me run when they weren’t busy working full time or raising six other (lesser) children. And now, another generation was repeating my mistakes, not because ru…