Friday, January 9, 2009

A Slip in Time

After a particularly energetic game of basketball last Tuesday, I slipped into the night in search of a meal and a bit of rest at the homestead...

Approaching the car in a snowy mist, my mind was on autopilot as I pulled the keys out of my pocket...three steps, two steps...reaching for the door...

Then suddenly I'm in motion...from 90 degrees to the Earth to 60 degrees....45...30...15...touchdown...


The ultimate embarrassment for the winter walker...falling flat on your back...

After a quick check to make sure nothing was broken, fractured, bruised or battered, I dusted myself and plopped into the driver's seat.

During the short trip home, I thought about the fall...and how I take the seemingly simple task of walking for granted. Literally thousands of steps every day and very rarely do I think about where I'm putting my foot. Of course, you can't think about things to that depth, but it did strike me how control can be at times elusive.

Oh sure, we can take precautions--set money aside for a rainy day, buy a vehicle with air bags and antilock brakes, even salt your front porch--but there are times when life steps in and slips you up. And the best you can hope for is that you can get up and brush yourself off when it's over...

Lest I get too profound, there's always my wife to bring me back to earth once again (at least more gently than the black ice I just encountered). When I told her about my spill...she broke into an immediate grin and giggle. I would have appreciated a little self-control then...

11 comments:

  1. I'm sorry...once I realized you hadn't been hurt, I joined Bonnie in giggling as well. I just love that Chevy Chase-type comedy—and the fact that you're a million feet tall must have made it that much more impressive. Did anyone see you, or help you to your feet? I would have helped, after I stopped laughing.

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  2. i giggled too - and i'm sorry, i would have CRACKED up if it been my hubby! ;0) welcome 2 blogland!

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  3. Ohh I bet that smarts! And it makes you feel like such a prat as well. At least when I fell down my brother-in-laws stairs I was alone. Imagine a hippo in slippers bouncing down a flight of stairs and you get the picture!

    I know what you mean about life too. I walk around with a virtual cushion strapped to my bum just in case the rug gets pulled out from under me!

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  4. Bill, I don't recall breaking into immediate laughter so much as I recall feigning minor concern and THEN breaking into laughter, though not immediate! Please get the story straight Mister!

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  5. oh man....thats rough

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  6. If it makes you feel any better, I remember a time when Bonnie fell down a flight of stairs when we were in Mexico. Although there was a little tequila involved.

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  7. I am a bad person, I laugh all the time at stuff like this. But then I say a Hail Mary.

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  8. I'm sorry...once I got to the part about "nothing was broken, fractured, bruised or battered", I started laughing.

    It just makes me so happy that somebody ELSE has these moments, too... :)

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  9. I wiped out when giving Sophia a push while sledding last night. Bam, right on my left hip. First thing out of her mouth: Are you OK, Daddy? Awwww. Second thing? Maniacal laughter. Women of all ages love to laugh at our pain!

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  10. I'm going to need for this blog to be updated more often. Please.

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  11. I agree with Rebecca, if I am going to continue to click on the link on an every other day basis then there should be something new to read about.

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