Choking Hazard

You know how listed on many packages are words along the lines of "Choking Hazard, Keep Away From Children" and usually you look at that and think...how in the world is my child going to choke on a Happy Meal toy from McDonald's...I mean really, they're going to try to stuff that Smurf down their throat?  

I don't think so.

Well, apparently the warning needs to be for adults as well.  Why you ask?  Let me tell you the predicament I found myself in yesterday while doing an every day activity using an everyday item.

I was innocently sitting in the bathroom doing Addison's hair.  Just as I ALWAYS do, I was holding her tiny plastic hair elastic in my teeth so that when I was holding her hair with one hand, I could use my teeth and the other hand to stretch the elastic out to get it ready for putting it around a pony tail.  (If you do not have daughters...this may not make sense to you.  Those with daughters know exactly what I'm talking about.)

As I was sitting there combing her hair with the elastic in my teeth, I suddenly became victim to a violent sneeze attack (not uncommon for those with Campbell genes...I have NEVER sneezed just once).  Without having a moment to think, I gasped between sneezes and inhaled the elastic straight down my throat.

I gagged for a while, trying to either swallow it down or cough it out, but it was lodged.  No matter how hard I coughed, or how much saliva I swallowed...it wasn't moving.  And can I just say that having an elastic stuck in your throat isn't the most comfortable feeling I've experienced?

My life flashed before my eyes as I wondered if this was how I was going to go.  

Death by elastic.

Finally the elastic came dislodged from my throat and I had survived the whole ordeal...but it was a close one.  Poor Addison had just stared at me the whole time with a look of horror, saying "Okay mommy?  Okay?"

Unfortunately for me, the dislodging was not voluntary as my gag reflex kicked into full gear and up came my delicious peanut butter cheesecake brownies I had for lunch...which are not as delicious coming up.

From now on, hair elastics will be waiting safely on the counter until the exact second I am ready to put it in the children's hair.