Yesterday, Big Sister's class got a visit from Sparky the firedog and some local firefighters. They got to see a real firetruck up close, and they reviewed a lot of important safety tips. I'm not sure she is really ready to understand many of them, but perhaps with repetition...
For instance, she knew to tell us "Stop, drop & roll" when we asked what she would do if her clothing caught fire. But she didn't know what that meant exactly- "Stop, drop what you're doing and run to tell your teachers..." she started. So I had to explain that there should be NO running involved, that this meant stop
wherever you are and drop to the floor. Then I reminded her of how our crazy dogs roll around on the floor to try to scratch their backs- and told her rolling to put out a fire might look something like that. Okay, I kind of demonstrated a little. I'm not ashamed.
Also, she told us that we had to "get out & stay out." But later she said, "But you don't want to leave the dogs in the house!" No, I thought, but when have our dogs not run out the door anytime we leave it open, anyway? "Or we don't want to leave the cat. We'll have to come back and get the cat." I didn't want to tell her that I probably
would be the kind of person to run back into a burning building to save my pets, since that would negate the basic "get out & stay out" premise. But I said that sometimes the firefighters or other heroes rescue pets too.
And then she said, "And what about some of our favorite toys? We wouldn't want to leave them behind..." And although I tried to explain to her that they could be replaced, but people could not, she was still thinking about how important they were to bring with her. And this kid is not really all that materialistic.
I can only guess that she doesn't realize how quickly you leave in a fire- how little time there is, or warning. And how you don't get to pack a toy bag like we do when we head to Nana & Papa's house. I pray she never will have a reason to understand this. But, just in case, I'll keep talking with her, discussing the urgency of such an emergency without scaring her.
The other thing that went along with a visit from the fire department? Cool hats, of course.
Little sis didn't get a hat, so we just
had to stop by firehouse subs for dinner so we could get her one. (Because the three upstairs in the girls' room would not have sufficed. It had
nothing to do with my desire to avoid cooking dinner. Ha!) Once both girls had hats, it was time to get to work. They put out fires and rescued Daddy.
And then Daddy had to rescue Big Sis.
I tried to soak in a little of it all- them all running through the house, giggling together, Little Bit in the oversized hat and Daddy in one that didn't fit at all. I wanted to store it up for a day, not too far in the future, when those cute little girls will be big. It was a sweet moment.
