Witch Finger

I never told you about my sledgehammer accident that left my right index finger looking like a witch finger.  It happened two Sundays ago.  It was shaping up to be a lovely Mother’s Day, beginning with some planting in the garden to be followed by a celebration at my parents’ house.
 

Our peppers and tomatoes were going in the ground.  We had BIG stakes to put in the ground to tie up our tomato plants.  My husband knows that I love using the big, bad tools so I got to hammer the stakes in.  I hurried over to him (in my Mother’s Day dress, no less) and starting hammering.
 
I’ve used a sledgehammer plenty of times before, but this time was not as flawless.  The first stake went in without a problem.  Then came the second stake.  One swing.  Two swings.  Three swings.  BAM!I misjudged my last swing and the handle came down on my finger causing it to hit with full force onto the corner of the wooden stake.  I blanked due to the shock of pain for a second, then handed the sledgehammer over to my husband, simply said “I’m done,” and ran into the house to get a band-aid and ice pack (and avoid having my husband witness the flood of tears that followed).
 
I spent a small chunk of time huddled up on the couch with my ice pack and tears feeling pretty sure that my finger was going to fall off from the seething pain.  My husband didn’t waste any time making sure I was okay and that I was keeping my finger iced.  Having had a sledgehammer injury of his own a few weeks prior, he knew exactly what I was feeling.
 
Fast forward to the next morning.  My index finger was so swollen.  It was black and blue and so was my nail.  The pain went away rather quickly, but the swelling caused it to feel numb.  It looks like a legit witch finger right now.  Kind of creepy and puffed up at the tip (I spared you gross photos).
 
So needless to say it was a boring, quiet week last week as my finger began to heal.  No time spent in the craft box.  No transcription work because it hurt to type.  Just a lot of quality time with my ice packs.  Day-by-day it seems to get better, but it’s still bound to scare little children as long as it’s swollen at the tip.  Of course I keep hearing that my nail will probably fall off.  I don’t really care what my finger does as long as it hurries up and heals!  I think I’ll be leaving those big, bad tools alone for a while.  Or at least the sledgehammer!