October 29, 2025
Halloween is just a couple of
nights away. This will be the first time ever that we are not planning to
distribute candy. Our street is still under construction, and the “walkway” we
have from the street to the porch steps, at this point, just isn’t safe. We
doubt that there will be many little ones out on this road this time, so we
decided not to bother.
I don’t for one moment suppose
the little ones in this town are going to miss our contribution to the surfeit
of sweets they are about to amass.
It’s gotten quite chilly over
the last week, and I’m not upset in the least. I don’t have to go outside unless
I want to, and that is a blessing. My days of driving on icy, foggy, or icy and
foggy roads are over. I no longer even consider that scraping off a snow- and
ice-covered car is something that would be on my daily bingo card. Not to say
none of those things will never happen again, because, well, never say never.
But I think I am safe in saying that those things which I did aplenty in years
past are very unlikely to ever come up again.
Not exactly crying about that.
One interesting thing happened
to me over the last week. I’m fine, no broken bones or sprains or even any
bruises, but I did take a tumble outside. I was on my way to the car and can
tell you I am not exactly sure how it happened, but my foot encountered
something, and I went down. Completely my fault, as I really wasn’t one hundred
percent focused on the job of walking from my back yard gate to my car.
I can tell you that falling
down is the easiest damn thing to do. Getting up again? Not so much. I tried a
couple of times, but there was nothing for me to hold onto, and on one attempt
I over balanced and scraped my forehead on the concrete path. Of course, I prayed
for help, and within just a couple minutes of that scrape, my daughter arrived
home. I hadn’t been expecting her until much later, but there she was, and trained
as she is, she got me up.
So one fall, resulting in my
forehead and my ego slightly scraped, but I can take it.
Fortunately, I don’t have
brittle bones(yet), and I came down on somewhat wet, soggy, and therefore not
unforgiving ground.
The incident was a good
reminder that I need to focus at all times on the movements I am making. Of
course, my family was a bit concerned, and I won’t lie to you. I was very stiff
and sore the next couple of days, mostly from using my knees in my few attempts
and final success in getting back up. And I was disappointed because I was
going to attend a very special event on Sunday, but I really couldn’t.
So here I am, 5 days on and none
the worse for wear. Some of the forehead scrape has healed, but not all of it.
There was a suggestion made by
a dear loved one to the affect that I should not go anywhere at anytime alone
ever again. But I chalked that up to the anxiety of the moment.
When those we love get hurt,
even if it’s just a small hurt, our instinct is to wrap them up and set them on
a shelf so that they will never get hurt again. That’s a fine instinct.
However, in reality life demands
that we live in such a way that getting a little banged up is to some extent
par for the course. I’ve had arthritis for more than thirty years, and it has
changed a bit in that time, but there is no cure, and it will only, over time,
get worse.
I used to tell the folks I’d
meet at the different conventions and book signing events I attended that while
eventually I might end up in a wheelchair, I wasn’t worried. I can already
chair dance like nobody’s business; and if I can no longer use my legs and feet
to get around, at least I would be able to finally get myself a pair of
kick-ass shoes with those spiky heels—or a pair of shiny boots with laces up
the yin-yang.
Because if I’m unable to walk, well, at least I
intend to be damned stylish while I ride.
Love,
Morgan
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
No comments:
Post a Comment