A pair of well-worn hiking boots sit on a rock somewhere on a trail on a sunny summer’s day.
When I went down, I went down hard, the left side of my body taking the brunt of the fall. Grateful for the pair of sunglasses, now scratched beyond repair, that protected my eye, I still hit hard enough that I will have a colorful shiner for about a week, not to mention the lump on my forehead.
I didn’t see the root that snaked its way across the trail, didn’t see that it was calling my name and just waiting for me. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t on the trail at all, but just jumped out in front of me at the last minute snatching my hiking boot in it’s nasty little teeth, causing me to fall. You think tree roots don’t have teeth? HA!
The long walk back to the car with Dean’s arm wrapped around my waist guiding me past other ill-intended roots and rocks helped me get back into my body, so I no longer felt like I was going to puke or pass out. Taking his husbandly advice to breathe, I’ll never underestimate the power of deep breathing again.
So, we made it home and I stood in the shower, soaping myself down, trying to get rid of the dirt and pebbles stuck in and to my skin. Swollen face. Swollen shoulder. Swollen elbow and an awesome amount of road rash. Spray on Hydrogen Peroxide was no picnic, but hours later, the swelling started to subside. The road rash still burned like hell, and that shiner started turning a deep shade of purple.
What a blessing it is, to be active in my life. “I’m down, you stupid tree root, but I’m not out. I’ll see you again, on my terms!” I have no broken bones, and even though I’m sore all over, this morning the swelling has gone way down. I know that with a day or two of rest and I’ll be back to my old tricks again, though I think I should watch where I’m going.
In the meantime, I have a great excuse to curl up on the couch for the day, watching Home and Garden Television, in between naps. A little later I’ll soak in an Epson salts bath and begin plotting my revenge against that tree root!
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