04.17.04. That was the day. The day that I was clueless about what was to come. I was five years old. In fact, I was in kindergarten. I went to St. Clement of Rome Catholic School in Metairie, and I loved school because I thought it was fun at the time.
Our house was up for sale, and we were getting ready to move to Lake Charles. My dad had already been up there working, and in a few weeks, we would be joining him. The only thing stopping us from going to Lake Charles, at that time, was finishing school.
My sister and my mom were on a field trip to the Coca-Cola factory when it all occurred.
I remember leaving Ms. Shawn and Ms. Dawn's classroom. I was thrilled to go to lunch. My friends and I quickly ate, and then we were ready to go to recess, which, to kindergardeners, was the best part of the day!
At Saint Clement of Rome, we had no field to play on, so the parking lot in front of the school was what we used as our recess field.
My memories of that day were pretty detailed. At five years old, my recesses consisted of chasing boys, getting exhausted, and playing with my other friends.
A.J. Thurman. That's the boy I was chasing that day. Being young, I was very energetic, so it took a very fast person to run me out of energy. I remember running as fast as I possibly could. I chased after that boy for what felt like hours. We ran around the entire parking lot, but I never could seem to catch him. I ran, and ran, and ran, and ran, until I could no longer run anymore.

Like a fast traveling car that takes time to slow down, I was clueless in thinking I could come to a stop in an instant. So, when I got to the point of not being able to run any longer, I slowed down, but not quick enough. At that moment, I was headed towards the fence, which lead me to face plant right into the parking bumper.
It didn't hit me at first. I began crying about a minute after my brain had processed what had just happened. My best friend, at the time, immediately sprinted to the closest teacher to let her know what had just happened.
I began walking towards the office. I remember holding my hands out, just like you would to receive communion, and them being filled to the top with blood. Also, my first tooth was about to fall out, but the bumper easily got rid of that problem for me. All four of my top teeth were shifted to the left side of my mouth. I felt scared and alone, because neither of my parents were around to come save me.
I was escorted to the office, where Mrs. Lydia, the office secretary, would take care of me. She washed out my mouth and hands, but to this day, I will never forget that she threw my tooth down the drain. I waited in the office while she made phone calls to both of my parents. Being in Lake Charles, my dad couldn't come get me, but once Mrs. Lydia notified my mom, she immediately left the field trip. Since the Coca-Cola factory was so far away, my grandparents, who lived a mile away from my school, came to pick me up.
They brought me back to their house, where I was pampered. About an hour later, my mom showed up.

When my mom came to their house, she took a look at my teeth and immediately knew that I had to go somewhere to get it checked out. We rushed to the dentist. When we go there, they told me that I had to go to the building next door to the one I was used to going to.
I was walked into an operating room, but being five, I had no idea where these people were taking me. All of a sudden, the dentist shut the door on my mom. I was frightened! Sobbing on the exam chair, I could see my mom watching me through the glass door.
The dentist began working in my mouth. He gave me laughing gas that made me very loopy. After about twenty minutes, I no longer had all four of my front teeth.
I stayed home from school for two weeks. My diet consisted of smoothies and ice cream. To me, it was a mini vacation!
For the rest of the year, all I could wish for was "my four front teeth!"
The advantage about this accident was getting a bunch of money from the tooth fairy. I also learned to never again chase boys.
Weeks before the event had happened, my mom bought a princess tea set as a gift. Since the minute I laid my eyes on it, I've begged her for it, but she said it wasn't for me.
I was sitting at home watching TV one day, and my mom came up to me with a gift. She told me that since I had been such a good girl, she was going to give me this gift. I opened it and immediately jumped to hug her. I was so excited that she got me what I had begged for what seemed like forever! I played with that princess tea set from the moment I got it, until I had to go back to school. It was my favorite toy!
Honestly, besides the fact of having to get four of my teeth pulled, the outcomes of the incident were pretty good. I got money, a tea set, lots of love, smoothies, ice cream, and two weeks off of school.
I enjoyed being the first person with my permanent teeth, because I seem to be very slow with other milestones. In first grade, my teeth were almost fully grown in, and most of my classmates hadn't even lost their baby teeth yet.
Something strange came out of this occurrence. When I hit the parking bumper, I hit it hard. Not only were my teeth shifted, but my entire lip was busted open. Today, I have what looks like a tiny rock, or pebble, in my bottom lip. Personally, I think it was jammed in there from clashing into the bumper so hard, but my parents say its just a little lump. Whenever I bite my lip, you can see a white pebble-looking dot inside it.
After knocking my teeth out, I learned that good things can come from bad events. I also learned that the people who love you will be there for you no matter what. My grandparents could have been in the middle of eating lunch, but once they found out I was hurt, they dropped everything and came to get me. If you get anything out of this story, know that your friends and family are the things you want to keep close to your heart, because without them, I would be no where.