Guardian Angels

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On Tuesday this week, I met up with Erin at Costco to do some shopping for the Young Women's Temple walk this Friday. Erin had both Maddy and Olivia with her and I had Charlotte. Luckily we got to the store at the opening which cut down tremendously on the massive crowds that generally accompany us at our local Costco. Erin held Olivia in the Bjorn and thanks to the massive Costco baskets, I was able to put both Maddy and Charlotte upfront in the cart. They kept each other company and the shopping went smoothly.

Near the end of the trip, Charlotte got restless and wanted to get out of the cart, so I picked her up and Erin took over pushing the cart. We finished our shopping and headed out to the car. One of the items Erin had picked up for her employer was a type of water sold in glass bottles. So naturally, the box was heavy. With Olivia strapped to her front, Erin obviously couldn't bend down and pull the box from the bottom of the cart to put in the trunk of her car, so I offered to do it for her. I set Charlotte down on the ground to pick it up but decided I didn't trust her to stay by my side in a parking lot with moving cars while my arms were full of a heavy box. I decided instead to put her in the basket part of the cart and instructed her to sit down and hold on tight. 

Of course in the interim of putting her in the basket and picking up the box to put in the trunk, Charlotte decided to stand up in the cart. She apparently leaned forward over the edge just as I set the box down in the trunk. I heard Erin gasp, but no thump or loud bang so I figured we'd had a near miss. Not so. I turned around and saw Charlotte laying on her back in the parking lot staring straight up not making much of a sound. She had gone head first over the end of the cart and flipped over landing on her back. My heart sank and I was sure I was going to see a pool of blood from beneath her head as the asphalt is fairly rough in the parking lot. I swooped her up and she began to cry, though not as loud or as hard as I expected for such a horrific fall. I cradled her to me and slowly she began to calm down. When I looked her over, she had no scrapes, no bruises, no cuts, nothing.

In retrospect of the event, I never heard a crack or even a thud from her hitting the ground. Though Erin said seeing her fall from the cart made her feel sick, and a couple of women who witnessed it in the parking lot stopped to make sure she was okay, no one actually saw her head hit the ground.

Today I am thankful for my Heavenly Father who is ever mindful of me and my family, and for the guardian angels who He sends to watch over us.