Thursday 27 June 2013

Lessons I've learned from breaking my foot



Things I’ve learned since breaking my foot:


  • A split second is a really short measure of time, and no matter how young/fit/focused you are, you have no time to react or save yourself.  The first I knew something had happened was when I heard the crack.
  • Moon boots are better suited to space endeavours.
  • It’s amazing what you can do without if it requires bothering someone else to do, or more effort than desire – like cups of tea/coffee and beverages in general, bathroom trips if you’re not really busting (though don’t leave this too long either because it takes longer to get there and get organised!), snacks, and rolling over in bed.
  • I do not cope well not being able to run my household!  Having read a friend’s blog today, I realise this is more about control.  Hello, my name is Jen and I’m a control freak.  I like controlling my household (though never the people in it because who else knows how THAT turns out!?!).  I like the kitchen “Jen” clean every night before bed, and in the morning before I leave the house for work.  I like everything picked up and put away before I leave the house for work.  I like the washing folded a certain way and put away in the right places.  I like the beds pulled up and smooth each morning.   Did the world stop turning while I wasn’t able to do these things?  Nope.  Did it drive me crazy sitting on the couch with my leg up watching dog hair dust bunnies tumble down the hall and around long-abandoned toddler toys?  OH MY YES!
  • I can make it through the night only rolling over once or twice to save having to reorganise myself, the cat, the bedclothes and my husband.
  • I have much better balance than I thought!
  • I do not like to sit back while others work – I feel guilty, regardless of how justified my “stillness” is.  Could also be control, but mostly my work ethic.  I’m not lazy and would prefer to “do” than “receive”.
  •  Simply being able to walk is wonderful!
  •  I get fatter more easily these days, and will never take for granted how beneficial general movement is for burning off a calorie or two.  My pants are a bit tighter and I’m feeling pudgier, though my left leg has slimmed down nicely!  I’m looking forward to being able to run again and have the ap and sneakers all ready to go… once I’ve got this walking thing down pat.  It may be another month or two away, but I just can’t wait to get out there!
  • People I thought would help didn’t.  But help came from people I didn’t expect, and in ways that really warmed my heart.  I’ve since joined the roster of people who cook meals for people in need at my church.
  • My in-laws are incredible and I'm so blessed to have snagged their youngest son!
  • My daughter doesn’t like it when I can’t pick her up and cuddle her nearly as much as me.  She really acted out through this process, with the change in routine and different people looking after her in my place.  On the upside, “moon boot” and “crutches” were added to her vocabulary.
  •  And finally, God has a wicked sense of humour that I don’t always appreciate.  Let me explain.
 I hate asking people for help.  My husband doesn’t like it when I ask him to do things, like most husbands I’m sure.  The thing is, when you’ve broken your foot and you’re in pain and unable to move particularly well or with any speed, and carrying anything while you attempt to move around is out of the question, you tend to need to ask for help all the time.  With everything.  Uncomfortable position for me.  Uncomfortable position for my husband.   Though I did rediscover a childish way of carrying an empty cup by suctioning it onto my face!  Smile, however, and you're stuffed!  

The thing is, when you pray to God for help with something, He rarely fixes it but will put you in a place where you need to figure it out on your own – much like a parent leaving a child who’s cranky over a jigsaw puzzle they can’t do.   “You can throw all the puzzle pieces you like, but how’s that working out for you?” 
Or
when people pray for God to give them patience, they find themselves stuck in traffic or at an airport with a delayed flight and the first thing they do is exclaim, "Oh, for crying out loud!  Are you serious God!"  Yep.  He is.  So I found it irritatingly amusing when I realised both my husband and I were in our uncomfortable states, of me asking for help and him having to do it!  Ah, what a sense of humour.

Are we any better in these issues now, six weeks later?  I’m not sure, but I sure am appreciating being able to run my household the way I like.  And my husband is sure appreciating me being able to run the household the way I like, too!  I actually enjoyed cooking two dinners in one night this week, and spending a good hour cleaning the kitchen while I chatted on the phone with a friend!  Ah, freedom of movement WHILE carrying objects in my hands!

Simple pleasures, really.  Big fan.