Several years ago, when my oldest daughter was about 10 years old, she was standing on a swing, pumping her little heart out.
She was playing a game with her friends to see who could jump the furthest off of the swing as the swing reached its highest point in its pendulous motion.
The children were landing on soft sand, and had been at it for about 10 or 15 minutes with no injuries, when suddenly I heard a loud cry coming from my daughter as she landed not quite right on her left foot.
To keep a long and painful story short, when we left the emergency room several hours later my Susie had a big fat white cast wrapped around her lower leg, with just the hint of toes sticking out at the bottom.
Thank goodness it was a simple break, and would heal well and quickly.
But one man's "quickly" is another man's "eternity," or, what I was really thinking, "What is this active, exuberant ten-year-old girl going to do for six weeks hopping around like a puppy with her tail tied to a brick?" The excitement wore off very quickly and Susie started complaining of boredom.
She was spending a lot of time lying in bed due to the discomfort of the cast and we were just at a complete loss for things she could do while sitting up in bed aside from reading, which at the time was not her favorite activity in the world.
Just as I was starting to despair along with my daughter, a friend of mine who lives out of town came to visit.
Asking me why I wasn't entertaining Susie in a better way, Lara made the most amazing, simple suggestion-"Why don't you go and get one of those table thingies that they use in hospitals so patients can have a flat hard service at their disposal, but can be easily stored either under the bed or in a corner of the room?" Lara's suggestion was as revolutionary as it was simple.
The next day I was able to acquire an overbed table, and I can tell you now that this one practical device made all the difference in the world.
Susie could eat with ease in her bed, play chess and Scrabble with me, watch a movie on the laptop, or surf the internet if she wanted to.
She was able to do her writing assignments at her table, and really started enjoying being home.
It's always amazing how certain little tools can make such a difference in a bad situation.
I would never have thought of getting a bedside table - but it was a brilliant way to keep my daughter comfortable and occupied.
Two other items that also made all the difference were the laptop where she could play chess and watch movies, and a back-scratcher that allowed her to scratch the bottom of her foot.
As her leg healed more Susie also got out of bed more, and needed the table less.
But I found lots of uses for it.
I once did a "breakfast in bed" for my husband on his birthday, and he did the same for me one Valentine's Day.
I sent Lara a dozen roses when Susie got her cast off, and included a note thanking her so much for saving me and Susie from going stark raving mad from boredom and worry.
Thank goodness I haven't had to use the bedside table since then for any medical reason, but it is nice to know that I have it if I ever do need it again.
Sometimes it's the littlest of tools, and the most innocent of suggestions, that make the difference in a situation that seems untenable.