Any of you monkeys want a banana?

We all like surprises, don't we? Good ones, at least. Some surprises are harmless fun, like the skeleton jumping out of a closet in a haunted house. Others take our breath away (I'm thinking of the bear I narrowly avoided hitting with the work van a few months ago). Some change our lives (we've all had those). One winter afternoon in Texas, when Lindsey was less than two years old, fits in the first category.

Rosalie, Lindsey, and I had gone to a playground on base to let her play on the swings, slide, etc. One trip down the slide was unlike any of the others. I was at the bottom, waiting to catch her. Rose had brought her to the top and, when I was ready, let her go. Part of the way down, she just disappeared!. It looked like she dove over the side, about 8 feet up. As quick as I could I ran around the end of the slide to find her hanging by her mitten(you know the type, through the sleeves, connected by a yarn string).