The other morning, I was heading out to walk the dog and stopped to check out the handy, dandy weather app on my iPhone. It had one of those red banners across the top warning me of icy conditions. Score 1 for being prepared. Instead of my hiking boots, I pulled on my winter boots for improved traction, leashed up the pup and headed out the front door. I stepped off the porch, onto the first step and proceeded to slide, feet first down the 4 steps onto the cement landing.
I laid on the ground for a minute cursing and trying to move all of my limbs to see what was hurt. My left wrist and shoulder seemed to haven taken the brunt of the fall and both felt sore. Other than that and my tuckus being wet from laying on the ground I seemed to be fine. My honey heard the fall and opened the door to check on me (I figured she really heard me cursing)! I got up and proceeded to take the poor dog for her walk. Everything was slippery and it was one of those really short walks where my sole focus was not to fall again.
Once I got home I iced my wrist and my shoulder a few times and took a couple of ibuprofen. What kept going through my mind was what if…
What if I had broken my arm?
What if I had hit my head?
What if I couldn’t get up and my honey wasn’t home?
What if Fenway had gotten scared and run away?
What if I had gotten hurt and couldn’t go to work for a while?
What if I had to go to the hospital and encountered medical bills?
Here at My Little Blue Kayak I have talked a lot about wanting to be healthy and strong right into my old age. I want to be one of those old ladies who still enjoys life t0 the fullest. I want to be like Mother Fran! This fall was a reminder how easily I can get off course and end up somewhere other than as a happily retired, healthy and strong old lady. One fall, could have caused me a lot more difficulties than a sore arm.
This is what happens to some of my patients at the rehabilitation facility where I work as an Occupational Therapist. They are living their life, minding their business and BAM something happens that pulls their kayak off course. Sometimes it is something big like a heart attack or stroke but it can also be something more mundane like a fall or a case of pneumonia.
For them, whatever event pulled them off course changed the next few months of their life or even the rest of their life. They ended up in the hospital for a bit, then short-term rehab. They had to start ringing a bell in order to get out of bed to use the bathroom. They had to have help with the most simple daily chores like showering and dressing. They had to rely on others for their basic needs like food, clothes and a roof over their heads.
For my patients during their hospital and rehab stay they are unable to go to work to earn a paycheck. They are unable to pay their bills and quickly slide into a financial mess.
I was lucky when I fell. I didn’t get hurt, it didn’t ruin my day much less my month. I didn’t lose any sleep much less any work.
But it did make me appreciate my health and wealth and it did make me more mindful how quickly it can all crumble due to a simple misstep. This was a good reminder that I am on the right course. With every stroke of my paddle, I am heading towards an abundance of health, wealth and happiness. I can easily make small course corrections to stay on track. But if I get blown way off course through no fault of my own; getting back on track will require a lot more thought and effort. It would require relying on strangers as well as friends to get back on track.
I can’t think and plan through every WHAT IF that could possibly pull my kayak off the course I have set. What I can do is to continue to make one good decision after another. I can make sure I am eating healthy, getting exercise and plenty of sleep. I can make sure my emergency fund is sufficient to get me through 6 difficult months. I can make sure I have no debt and that I earn way more than I spend. I can make sure my boss and my clients know I will do my best for them each and every day. I can make sure my friends and family know how much I love and appreciate them.
Making sure these things are taken care of will help to ensure a more speedy recovery from whatever WHAT IF I might face in the future. Taking care of these things in advance is one way I live my life strategically in pursuit of my personal destination.
Think I will go ice my shoulder!
Paddle On,
Lake Girl
Photo credits to Pixabay.com