Thank you God that it was a near miss

So we had a near miss (as they would call it at the hospital) here last night. I am having a little trouble processing my emotions on this one......
TJ was mowing the back yard, I was inside picking up toys after putting Owen to bed, and the "big kids" were playing happily in the backyard. All seems well and good right???? That is what I thought also until I brought the kids inside to get them cleaned up for bed. I had Ethan in the shower washing off when he pointed to his neck and said "look at my ouchie mom." It looked kinda like a rope burn.....(A little back ground info here.....TJ had probably a 10 ft length of rope in the garage that Ethan claimed as his own. He is usually tying the wagon, or the stroller, or many other things to his bike or gator so he can pull things. Now he has it in the back yard tied to the top railing of the swing set, and he tries to swing like a monkey from it while he is on the ground. I have watched him do this several times and it is really pretty comical, and he has a great time.) .......So I investigated and soon drug out of him that he had wrapped the extra length of rope around his neck while swinging like a monkey on it (so it wouldn't drag on the ground and slow him down while he was swinging.) I think the rest of this story is fairly obvious....he let go or fell maybe and the extra slack that he had wrapped around his neck pulled tight......

Just typing this out is making my heart race. The what-ifs are really just horrible to think about. What if he had it tied tight or it had tangled and not come loose? If it was tied tight....what if we hadn't noticed right away? This could have ended so badly, but thanks be to God that he was watching out for our little dare devil. I tell myself that this could have happened to any parent....but I am still feeling very guilty. I didn't even realize what happened until after the fact. So as soon as I got the kids in bed....I immediately removed the rope from the swing set and threw it away. Today he still has the rope burn around his neck and it has started bruising also. So I am choosing today, not to dwell on the "what ifs." Instead, I am thanking God that he is still alive and well and bouncing around like a carefree little 4 and half year old. If you would add a "thank you for protecting my sweet Ethan" to your prayers today I would appreciate it.

Love,
Katie