hatchet boy

So I have this giant tree in my back yard.

It wasn't looking too healthy, so I had this guy come over and cut it down.

I thought to myself, "Great. This works out good for me, I have a fireplace in my new house, I ought to be able to use all of this wood. No need to have it hauled off. I will just split it, stack it, and this winter, life will be golden."

So, today I went off and with a little bit of my birthday money and my handy-dandy Lowe's card, I purchased some of the tools that I thought I would need to start splitting this wood. One of the tools that I purchased was a small one-handed hatchet.

(I didn't know if I would actually need this tool or not, but it seemed like a smart choice at the time, so I added it to the cart.)

Once I got home, I immediately set to work on the wood. I was feeling pretty manly and all, I was splitting wood with my axe, I had a fire going in the fire pit, I was profusely sweating, and drinking a (non-diet) coke. Oh yeah... A real man.

My sons watched me splinter through a couple of logs as if I had been doing this my whole life, but they weren't as impressed or as interested as I thought they would be. My 4-year old immediately went off to look at bugs or something, but the 8-year old spyed the little hatchet.

His keen, intuitive mind immediately deduced that this smaller version of the axe that I was using, must be for him...




Ok. So giving a hatchet to an 8-year old is never a good idea, no matter how manly you are feeling.

Don't worry. The injury was minor, it only required a trip to an urgent care clinic and some stitches. That isn't that big of a deal, right? I mean, every kid has to stick a hatchet in his big toe at least once in his lifetime. Sam just got it out of the way early.

I have to say, he was very brave through the whole process. Mommy wasn't there to be with him (...which, her being out of town, might have something to do with how we got ourselves into this mess to begin with...), but he took it like a man. The only time he started to cry was when they gave him the shot to numb it. He is a tough kid when he needs to be.

Right now I think that he is actually enjoying the attention that he is getting. He is all propped up on the couch, watching a movie and eating Double Stuff Oreos with some milk.

His official new nickname is hatchet-boy. At least that is what he will be called until he becomes hammer-boy or bike-wreck-boy.

(If you are really interested, click
here to see the pre-stitched toe, and here to see the post-stitched toe.)