A year ago today

I broke my arm. 9:30 in the morning, a slip from the top stairs of my camper and down I crashed. The pain was horrible. My son and husband stars. They got me to a nursing station (we were in Burwash, Yukon and the ambulance was busy), and then got me to Whitehorse emergency room, 300 kilometres away.

That was a year ago.

Today I swam 1400 meters: front crawl, breast stroke, and back stroke for about 45 minutes. My arm still clicks occasionally on the backstroke, but it has full rotation.

I was lucky. Lucky I didn't need surgery, lucky the injury wasn't worse, lucky I had access to good medical care, lucky I had the coverage and money for physiotherapy afterwards.

Sometimes life throws stuff at me. I ask myself why. I could also ask why not? Shit happens. Life happens. Sometimes the shit teaches me a lesson, sometimes I just have to clean it off, and in the cleaning I usually see that there is a lesson to learn.

I have to listen for it. Sometimes it whispers to me, sometimes it shouts and sometimes it comes right out of left field.

I know that I am stronger, healthier and happier than I was a year ago.

I also know that now I am really, really careful when I go down the camper stairs.

Because sometimes shit happens.

But if I am paying attention and not going too fast, I can step around it.