16 DORA BIKE

Rhoda, this one is for you. And for all the other Mennonites out there who read my blog.

*****

Rhoda is a Mennonite. Mennonites are known for their plain and direct speech. “Let your yes be yes and your no be no” is one of their common admonitions. Those Mennonites. You won’t catch them stretching the truth.

After living with me for about a day, Rhoda pronounced that the Pentecostal equivalent of this Mennonite maxim is probably something along the lines of, “Let your yes be 'Absolutely!' and your no be 'Hell, no!'" When she heard my description of her injury and our trip to the ER on my birthday last year, which I enumerated to my mom on the phone (the story involved a huge gash on Rhoda's nose, a splinter the size of a baseball bat, and a brush with death when I nearly fainted while driving to the hospital), she laughed uproariously.

“Rhoda,” I replied after I'd hung up the phone. “Would it have been better to tell my mother that you suffered a mere scratch, warranting only a Dora sticker, and that the ER doctor patted you on your head before sending you on your way?”

“Well, I guess you could have just told her the truth.”

*****

On May 21, Rhoda was riding her bike home from work over lunch. She hit a bump, and a wooden box she was carting home in her bike’s basket bounced up and hit her in the face, connecting with her nose and drawing blood. She pedaled the rest of the way home and discovered that the wound, though only a centimeter in length, was fairly deep. I picked her up and brought her back to school, where we met up with a nurse at the health clinic on campus. Her verdict? “Go to the emergency room.”

So Rhoda and I headed to the ER in Harrisburg, with me at the wheel. Ever squeamish at the sight (or thought) of blood, I felt a bit light-headed and, at one point, told Rhoda that she should be prepared to take the wheel; I might faint. When we arrived, I pulled up to the entrance to drop off my still bleeding, injured friend. Rhoda took good care of her squeamish, directionally-challenged, Pentecostal patient. She turned to me and asked if I would be able to find the ER. I hesitated. Rhoda grinned. “Why don’t we just park the car and walk in together.” (I’d probably still be wandering around that hospital if she’d left me to my own devices.)

About two hours later, Rhoda emerged with a small “Dora the Explorer” band-aid firmly stretched across the bridge of her nose. I'm not sure if the doc patted her on the head; you'll have to ask Rhoda about that one.

*****

And there you have it. That is the entire and true story. Cross my heart.

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring ... Except Marna downstairs banging away at assembling the Dora Kitchen and Kevin trying to keep Paige corralled in her room!

Paige really likes Dora, and I like that she likes it. Paige also likes having tea parties and making pretend meals; so much so that she'll insist that we come sit with her. Marna and I knew that we had to get her a kitchen set for Christmas this year. The Dora Kitchen was the first present Paige got on Christmas Day. It was far, far, far from the last.

Among the many assorted gifts from friends and family are various DVD's, a Princess book set with audio CD, Dora bath time play set, some hand-made Princess costumes, Barbie dolls, a Cabbage Patch Kid, a baby doll, a nap-time Tigger, Mermaidia play set (with doll), a Paige mug, Fairy Wishes Dora, a Power Touch learning system, and much more. If I've missed your gift, I apologize, but please know that we appreciate your thoughtfulness and kindness.

We just finished packing up Christmas for the year, even though Paige is still asking for more presents. Once we actually got it all put away, the next task will be to go through her old toys to make room for all these new ones. It's a good thing her birthday isn't until June!