Anchor your furniture...

So, two days ago I witnessed one of the most horrific sights I've ever seen in my lifetime.
Dramatic preface, I know.  But, it really was terrible.

Yesterday afternoon, the kids were both in their shared room having "nap time"... which typically involves them playing together, reading books, coming in to find me saying, "Calvin took my blanket," or "Tillie hurt my arm..." and occasionally, sleep happens.  Friday was like most others where I was in and out of consciousness having MY "nap time" (being 38+ weeks pregnant), when a panicked Tillie suddenly ran into my room and said, "Mom! Something is wrong with Calvin! He is stuck!"

I jumped out of bed and ran to their room and saw an image that I can't get out of my mind.  I see the tall Ikea dresser (that I had just recently stuffed full of Tillie's clothes too, so they could share it) on TOP of my 2.5 year old son... I could only see his legs sticking out from under that massive dresser.

It was horrible.

I think I yelled as I raced to the dresser and with some unseen force (in that brief moment, I remembered how I'd heard about moms being able to lift up cars) and was able to lift the stuffed-full dresser up high enough with one hand to pull him out with the other hand.

After I pulled him out, he was sobbing.  I was shaking and teary.  Tillie was crying.  I carried him into the family room as I tried to assess the damage.  Luckily, other than his arm and wrist hurting, he looked like he was in pretty good shape, considering. I checked his pupils to see if there was a concussion, but he looked okay and didn't once complain about his head hurting, so that was a relief.

I tried to lift up the dresser again to put it back up, but (obviously) I couldn't do it.  That thing weighed a ton.

Calvin has really mellowed in the last several months, and I've never seen him climb up on things, or really, do anything very dangerous.  When I asked Matilda what had happened, she told me that Cal had just opened up most of the drawers to see what was inside of them (obviously, he was curious, b/c I had taken his dresser and added so many new clothes of Tillie's), and that's when it tipped over and fell on him.  So, he wasn't being a crazy two year old and trying to climb up to the top or anything like that.

Retelling the tale to my husband, I couldn't believe how scary it all actually was.  It could have ended so much worse.  And then when I told again the story to my parents, I started sobbing.  Probably one of the most traumatic things that has happened to us in a long time.

Moral of the story: I will be anchoring down EVERY piece of large furniture in this house.  We have an entertainment center, book shelves, other dressers, etc.  And, my advice to you is to do the same.  You just never know when something like that might happen to you and your family.

As I prayed last night (and in several moments since the experience), I thanked my Heavenly Father that Calvin was safe (the story could have ended so differently), that Tillie was there in the room with him and had the insight to quickly to come find me (I couldn't hear Calvin at all, b/c his voice was so muffled as he was face down), that I was able to have the strength to get him out in my large pregnant state, and that we were all okay (still shaken, but okay).

Anyway, I wanted to tell the tale in hopes that something like this won't happen to you.  Let's all anchor our furniture.