I don't know anything about PR, but that sounds like a great assignment, Stephanie. I know ExArmyBrother enjoyed his stint running a ROTC program.

Just remembered a climbing story!

When I was four and my little sister had started climbing... My Dad got home from work, pooped, and my Mother greeted him with the news that the baby had started climbing and they needed to move some furniture. Then then spent the next hour or so moving things so the baby would be safe.

One of the things was a big trunk under a window. Every day after work Dad would sit in his chair and I would sit on the trunk and we would talk. You see it coming, right? As soon as they were done with the great move of '74 Dad sat down in his chair and I, having no trunk, hopped up on the window sill. About two seconds later the screen gave way.

We were on the first floor, but the basement was above ground so I fell nearly a story. Mom was hanging up laundry on the porch and saw me fly past her about ten feet away. I vividly remember the feel of the screen breaking, the scream of my Mother, how cold the x-ray room was, and being very upset that I missed the fair that night. I don't remeber the broken arm hurting at all.

Oh, I love PR. Fun!

I don't remember any traumatic injuries as a child (I was too busy almost dying of kidney infections and asthma msot of the time), but my sister once bit her tongue in half sledding. The dog had been digging in the snow, she hit a bump and had to be rushed to the ER for stitches.

Ooh, yeah, I was sledding once and hit the lone tree for miles around. (They filmed it, but I don't think my mother could bear showing it every Christmas.) And my uncle's near-200 pound dog jumped up to greet my brother once and accidentally put his fang right through Bro's upper lip. Good times, good times.

My own worst childhood injury wasn't a fall from a height but a running crash, face-first into a corner of the fireplace. I still have a slightly lopsided smile because of it.

Now that I think about it, falling out of bed not long after I graduated from a crib and narrowly missing losing an eye to the corner of a baseboard heater was probably worse, but I don't remember that one. But you can still see the stitches scar.

Once my brother got pissed off at me and threw the cat on me. I still have a scar from where she clawed into my arm after landing.

Leif likes to climb on top of his sister's dresser and jump off. It's a big dresser, about five feet high. I had to reinforce the childproofing measures on her room to keep him out unless supervised.

Puerto Rico sounds great, Stephanie!

I don't feel like recounting myshildhood injury stories right now. But I will say that my brother learned to climb before he learned to walk because there wasn't much dfloorspace in the house my parents were living in at the time, but there were lots of shelves and chairs and things to climb. AFAIK, he never fell and hurt himself. At leat, not until he was a teenager and fell of his bike and broke his elbow. He walked home from that with his arm all bent wrong and asked my mom to pop it back into place.

Every time I read people singing the praises of the Magic Eraser, I can't stop thinking about Shel Silverstein's Magical Eraser, which is clearly exactly what lisah's roommate is looking for.

My family has no climbing-and-disaster stories; we do have stories about how one of my brothers punched a 2' square hole in the hallway wall with his toy camper, almost severed one hand when our grandmother accidentally slammed the very heavy door of her Mercedes on it, and, with the assistance of a Siberian husky puppy, dug up all our flowerbeds one afternoon when not quite two. But no climbing to speak of.

Holy crow, Stephanie! Scary and cool, and congratulations to your DH on getting the position despite his juniorosity! And it also means he'll be right there with you and Ellie instead of oceans away, which is so very much of the good.

vw, insent a while ago (like, yesterday, but my email at work is cranky and ill-tempered), and likely more today.

Gronk. Timelies.

Whoo. Exciting day in Bitches, huh? Jess & Ethan's anniversary (HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!), Annabel climbing, Stephanie & fam going to Puerto Rico (my heart's devotion), Magic Erasers, Flexoril....

It's a good day.

I just had to e-smack my husband for scheduling rehearsal on our anniversary, when he had JUST asked me if I was taking my rehearsal off for that night. Silly man.

Has anyone heard from Laura? Did she get through Katrina ok?

(OTOH, for that matter, if she's one of the million-plus without electricity....)