A few years ago, we had to decamp unexpectedly to Tucson for a family emergency. It threw everything into chaos, including my writing.
Then life settled down to a pleasing predictability, and I was happily enjoying boring old normal life when
BOOM!
Our lives were turned on their heads in an instant. One moment I was speeding down the street on my bike, following Mark to Starbucks to meet a friend. And the next…
BAM!
I slammed into the sidewalk, hard, on my right arm, ribs and knee. I screamed and managed to turn over on my back, but I couldn’t move my arm.
And then Mark was there. Mark is always there when I need hin. He’s my angel. My guardian. My soulmate. He waited with me for the half hour it took for an ambulance to arrive.
And now, we are facing surgery to repair a badly broken humerus. My work will stop for a few days, a week, maybe two. Me, the guy who never slows down, will have to just
STOP.
There’s a reason for this, right? There always is, whether it’s a message from God or the fates, or one we teach ourselves – a story we weave to explain why this thing happened to us, and what we can learn from it.
And while the reason is not yet clear to me, the message of the moment is.
SLOW DOWN.
The universe has wrested the wheel from my manic hands and has downshifted my life to neutral. So I can fight it, or I can lean into it and see what unexpected fruit it might bear. Mark and I will figure it out together.
Events like these strip away the artifice and remind us who we are, both alone and together. This one has reminded me how fortunate I am, even in the midst of cascading misfortunes. Because I have him. Because we have each other.
So yeah. Curve ball. Big time. But still, it’s ok, because in this tiny house where we never thought we’d end up, there is
LOVE.
And the rest will work itself out, writing included.
To my author friends, what curve balls has life thrown at you? What did you learn? And did you find a way to keep writing?
Now is the time to try speech recognition.
I’ve broken my wrists (3 breaks -two on one side and one on the other). Given the 6-weeks for the bones to mend, there is still la long time of getting back to full use.
You will learn how to do a lot of things with the other hand and working with just one hand. I sail a sailboat; the term ‘single-handed sailing’ (which usually means one person in the boat with no crew to help) has a whole new meaning with one functional hand. I even was able to swing a pick ax to dig holes with my wrist in a cast.
I’m also a bicycle enthusiast and found a way to ride with a cast. I’ve even ridden a bicycle with a broken leg that had a pin in the femur. I needed a cane to walk but I found that I could go pretty well even on modest hills.
18 years ago this year my Husband and I were t-boned on our motorcycle by a 68 yr old man on his cell phone. At the scene we both had our left legs torn off. We were bleeding to death. Thank God a nurse was two cars behind us. Talk about devine intervention. The best thing, we both lived, help each other deal with this new life and still love each other. My advice, after surgery do your physical therapy. It’s the only way to get your arm to function close to normal. I’m so so happy you are ok, yes the next few months WILL BE difficult and painful but you will RECOVER!!!!! I’m so glad you have Mark. Sending Healing Vibes and patience your way.
Oh, that was wonderful!!