“So you have quite a family.”

“Climbing towers is easier than keeping them in line. They take after their dad. Always something going, into something. We have had nine broken bones in four years. I had them checked for bone problems, you know weak bones that break easy and the doctor could give them a pill to stop the breaks. No such luck. They are just plain too active. The girls are the worst, the sixteen year old broke her leg two years ago and then her other ankle last year. Those were basketball. She is an aggressive rebounder and got hurt that way both times. I tell her to be careful but it doesn’t help. She reminded me that there are nine other girls who have wound up in a cast who tried to take the ball from her and they only got her twice. She keeps score. She had a broken wrist between the two leg breaks, the result a fall on the soccer field. She played soccer with it. The cast intimidated the other players. They kept saying she was hitting them with it. She said they had to keep out of the way. The fourteen year old broke her right arm and left wrist at the same time when she was ten. She was racing her older brother on a bicycle and he was smart enough to slow down. She won but couldn’t stop. The following year she broke her collar bone blocking a guy three years older than her in a makeup game of touch football. Right now she has a full leg cast on her right leg. She got her leg caught between two logs while hiking. Actually she was chasing one of her brothers. The boys are relatively careful. They have only had two breaks each.”

Patti shook her head. “Can I ask what you husband does other than work?”

“Helps with the kids. Plays guitar with the band. Writes for a Christian Newspaper. Hikes with me at times, when I can get him out. His big exercise is on a treadmill. But he never stops. It is always into something, like the kids.”

“Has he ever been injured on the treadmill?” Patti asked it to bait her and Diane and she missed the reason for the question.

“No. But he sprained his ankle one time stepping off a curb. He has had stitches for cutting fingers opening a bubble pack. He is so careless.”