You'll Put Your Eye Out

Everyone knows this saying. The funny thing is most people never heard their mom say it.  They just hear other people quoting a line that has become infamous.  Anyone who has kids know that as a parent if you were to say this, it wouldn't carry much weight.  "Be careful with that" is about all we can say. The warning is good enough. Inventing a probable consequence or predicting what will happen if the warning is not heeded puts you in a different category somehow.
We do like warnings in America.  Thanks to lawyers we have lots of warnings that don't make much sense.  "Not intended for consumption" is one of my favorites.  You know that warning came because someone tried to eat it, whatever it was. A can of air-freshener may smell like berries, but let's not spray some on our toast.
Yesterday at church we had family sunday. The first sunday of every month is designated family sunday.  I guess every other sunday is individual sunday, but we don't call it that.  On family sunday the kids don't have sunday school.  They stay in church with their parents and we hear a children's sermon.  I think for most people the children's sermon is the one sunday everyone understands the lesson and it usually only lasts 10 minutes. Win-win.  Anyhow, on this particular children's sermon, one of the leaders in the program was scheduled to speak.  She gave a terrific lesson on light. Jesus is the light of the world, and I helped the kids sing "this little light of mine." Great! To end it on a good note (pun intended) she gave out glow sticks. She was quite proud of this give-away. First of all it went with the theme.  She even told us the glow sticks had been on sale 15 for a dollar so she went crazy and bought lots! I thought, that was brilliant!! (more pun intended, thanks)
Usually the person speaking to kids gives out candy. Then we find the wrappers all over the place and the kids make noise unwrapping them.  No noise this time, and what could be better than glow sticks during the day?
About 5 minutes into the prayers that follow the message, came a cry. Not a cry like a baby, more like a scream, then a cry, then more screaming.  Then a mom running out of the middle of the service holding her son. What could have happened? Apparently the 15 for a dollar glow sticks are not made as well as the 2 for a dollar glow sticks. The young boy had bent the stick and it broke open splashing glow stuff liquid into his eyes. And it burned.  Without warning.  People sprang into action. We had a nurse jump up to rinse with water. We had church people praying. We had lawyers investigating and doing lawyer stuff. And we had a concerned person call 911. Nice. Our emergency? Umm, a glow stick exploded in a kids face during the service. What kind of a church is that?
Well, everything turned out alright. The paramedics treated and released our kid into mom's care right there in the parking lot. He was fine. Turns out no toxic chemicals went into the making of those glow sticks. Probably because some kid did it before and now there are regulations and a label, but who reads those things anyway. I am pretty sure I heard another mom say as she took the glow sticks away from her kid's hands..."give me those, you might put your eye out!"