Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Crash, Bang, Oof, Ouch...

Hubby had a somewhat rare, random day off sometime last week. Sweetie was freshly home from school, homework completed, and outside playing with neighborhood kids.

There was a a skateboard involved.

Hubby knew that no good could come of this. Yet he stayed quiet, not reminding Sweetie to be safe or anything. He just knew to hang nearby for the inevitable crash.

3, 2, 1...

Wait for it...

Waaaaaahhhhh!!!!...

Ah, there we go. Of course - the wipeout.

Hubby quickly rushed to our splattered Sweetie, picked her up, and brought her inside for me to clean up the messes.

A pretty good scrape to the knee. She'll be okay.

All par for the course of childhood, really. Sweetie had her 7 year old physical a little more than a week ago, with the doctor commenting on all her bumps and bruises all over.

It's good to see the bruises, she says! Means she active and playing!

Yep. The girl doesn't even sit still when she's sitting still, we always say.

At any rate, Sweetie's latest crash reminded me of a couple of my latest crashes. One of which that sent a shock straight to my head as I landed, full force, right on my butt. Another, even more recent fall, was just as forceful, only I was saved this time by landing on carpet instead of my parents' wood floor.

Yeah - I fall a lot. I'm sure I must have mentioned it here before. I am pretty much a Professional Faller. I fall so much, in fact, that I say that I at least have learned well HOW to fall.

Hubby is always amazed at my falls. He says they're like in slow motion. Pretty much no matter what, I know how to control my body during a fall to cause the least amount of damage overall - to myself or items or people around me.

I once fell at our dinner hosts' home, with a full glass of wine in hand, and I didn't get one drop on their beautiful white lace - nearby - table cloth. I don't even think I got any on myself.

I'm a good faller.

HOWEVER - given my 2 most recent falls, both of which were more intense than typical - I am starting to get just a wee bit concerned about my safety. Especially considering that not only does osteoporosis run in my family, but I specifically have had a bone density test and I am already showing a loss. Add in the fact that I'm taking Tegretol - which has a side effect of causing bone density loss in its users - and I am just not in the best health bracket, bone-wise, that I could be.

Never mind that my grandmother, at 80 something years old, had the bone density of a young woman! Other family members have not fair nearly as well as that and I know that I too am not of her league.

My body aches most of the time. Whereas I used to be able to stand "forever!" in my book selling retail job once upon a time, now I consider it laughable for me to even think about taking on a job that requires me to be on my feet for any length of time. My leg goes numb. My body aches. My really rather slight frame feels like a ton of bricks to me after standing it up for more than 5 minutes. I'm an old lady.

My back starting hurting me when Sweetie was about 5 or 6 months old. It was logical to me at the time, considering how much I lifted and twisted my body with this new little wonder in my arms. "No problem," I thought. "She won't need me to lift her for ever. Once those years have passed me, I'll quickly see improvement in how I feel."

Well those years finally did pass. I haven't lifted Sweetie for ages at this point. I have consistently visited my chiropractor this whole time, starting before I even became pregnant! Weekly visits for, what?, 8+ years now? And literally no improvement.

Or... is there? I mean, what if I stopped seeing the chiropractor? Maybe my pain and problems would intensify 10 fold! Who knows... I don't think I'm willing to find out.

Anyway, just another glimpse into "me." Sweetie told her doctor at her appointment last week all about the "silly time" she likes to have with her Daddy (wrestling and chasing each other around the house.) Also about the geocaching adventure hikes the two of them love to embark on.

Me? I've become more of an honorary member of the geocaching team. And I'll sit on our comfy couch, playing Ipod games and/or watching TV, while the 2 hooligans of the house have their crazy races and practice Judo rolls.

I'll try to be more careful and cautious, keeping my falls to a minimum if I can help it. Cuz I know I'm getting to a point - heck, I'm probably here already! - where I can't get over a crash anywhere near a quickly as Sweetie can.

Ah, to be young again....

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