Falling Down

I was rushing back from South San Francisco last night, trying to make it to Jessica's band performance before she went on stage. I had pulled into the community center parking lot at 7:50, knowing that I had just missed it. I sent Vicki a text and low and behold, I had made it with plenty of time to spare (the symphony portion of the concert went long).

I was walking along a hedge in the parking lot on my way in to the concert hall, and didn't see a path through anywhere close, so I decided to jump over it. Dumb idea, I know, but it wasn't too high and was more of a small hurdle than a jump, so I figured why not. In mid-air, I looked down at the other side of the hedge and saw a curb. Things went into slow motion at that point, as I simultaneously thought: "oh crap", "I think I'm going to fall", and "this is not good". My foot came down half on the curb, my ankle rolled, and I went down in a heap. I put out my hands to break my fall, losing some skin on the asphalt, came down on my elbow and knee, and then somersaulted into the middle of the road. It was quite spectacular! I looked up expecting to see people on the sidewalk holding signs with scores of "10" on them.

My hand was bleeding and my elbow was scraped, but oddly enough I was more worried about my pants. I had an immediate flashback to when I was a kid, probably junior high age. I hadn't changed out of my school clothes before going to my friends to play and we were messing around with a bike jump. I caught my pants on something and ripped them, badly. I was scared to go home, because we only got two pair of pants each year and they had to last until summer. I didn't want to face my parents. So last night, it was like I was a kid again, and my first thought was panic that I might have ripped my pants. Funny.

This also ties into something that I have been thinking alot about lately; namely, how blessed I have been with my health. Except for my shoulder injury almost 20 years ago and some close calls as a kid, I have been relatively injury free. I have been thinking about that a lot lately as I'm running in the hills. With all of the extra weight I have been carrying, to be able to run and work-out without knee or ankle problems amazes me. My dad had a lot of lower back problems in his 30's and 40's, and I have not had any issues there either. The way I have taken care of my body the last 15 years, I certainly deserve worse, but am so thankful for my current good health. Of course now I have probably jinxed myself and my body will start falling apart first thing tomorrow.