What the WHAT?!

Have you ever had one of those days or weeks where things just seem to be going wrong? You might even begin to rethink your religion and start thinking back on your life.

Karma?

Are you real?

Fortunately for me I know it's not. Certainly, with the list of things I've done in my "previous" life, I would be...well...dead.

But it truly has been one of those days, weeks, ...actually months for me. It seems like every turn I take is a backward slide. It really is a bunch of silliness and the overall big picture is just a big joke with friends asking if I'm making this stuff up.

I promise. I'm not. And actually I want to laugh out loud thinking about it.  I really do!

Here's what happened today.

The good:

• Drs. appointment for a followup on my injury. I'm right on target and ready for physical therapy
• Got an exercise I can do three times a day at home to keep my back muscles loose.
• Received my referral for PT and set up six appointments
• Was told the massage therapy I was receiving is a good thing and to keep it up
• Received a referral to another doctor specializing in injuries because MY doctor uses him and really admires the physician
• Received a referral to another doctor to get specific answers on an area of health I'm concerned with.

I left the doctor's office and physical therapy practice feeling like I was on the right path to continued healing. I was feeling...FANTASTICO!

And then the series that led to the bad:

Parking lot.

Phone call to husband, telling him how the appointment went.

Speaker, phone on my lap.

Pull away from INOVA Fair Oaks Hospital.

Waiting at red light.

Boom. BOOM!

Head bangs, scream.

What the WHAT?!!

Ummmm...I was just in a car accident where the driver behind me was sandwiched by my vehicle and the driver who hit him at full speed. The impact was strong enough to jolt me in my seat and make the van jump forward. Luckily, I had enough space in front that I did not hit the car ahead of me.

I was actually surprised to see how little damage my vehicle had sustained. I mean...little. Thankfully everyone was alright. I've had a few side effects that haven't been pleasant but that is only because I'm already a walking mess of bumps and bruises.  I know I will be fine. 

But the moment that pleased me most was when the initial "What the WHAT?!" wore off and I was alone in the van. I started to laugh. I actually couldn't stop laughing. That poor kid, of ALL the people he could have hit, the chain reaction he caused hit ME - the woman who JUST left the physical therapy office because of an injury two months ago. ME - the woman who just doesn't seem to be getting a break and is falling or tripping or sneezing or breathing!

Yes, me. This woman.

At the same time I began to realize how thankful I was that the young man on his cell phone had hit me. Like I told him and the other gentleman AND the insurance company, I am an honest woman and have no desire to claim my injuries are the fault of any driver. I saw that man's face and how upset he was. Yes, he was in the wrong. No, he shouldn't have been fumbling on his cell phone and YES, he should have seen stopped traffic in front of him. But, even though I did follow procedure and answer all the adjuster's questions, I knew what that young man needed more than anything at that moment was grace.  I told him I was fine and to stay off that cell phone and pay attention to the road. Next time he may not be so lucky.

Because you see, karma isn't real.  Often times things just happen and other times we have to accept the consequence of our actions or inaction.  For me today served as a funny reminder of something very real.  I usually go about my day or plan my week by saying, "I'll do this...or that" when I know full well that I have NO IDEA of when my time is up on this side of eternity.

My job, aside from being a wife and mother, is to love and extend grace whenever possible to those I come in contact with.  Even when things may seem to come out of nowhere and I say "what the WHAT?!", I have every opportunity to be salt and light just as Jesus said. I don't know what will come out of the conversations I had today. All I know is that they all were able to laugh and enjoy my take on the whole event.  It's not up to me what each of them do or even if they will remember the things I said.

So the next time you find yourself in a situation where your normal human reaction COULD be anger or disappointment or frustration with another human being, try to extend the grace we all desperately need so much and let them know God is good. 

You never know. You just may get a "what the WHAT?!" from them.

Blessings for your day,

Sitting is SO overrated

I never thought I would miss this blog so much, but I do. Just when I had gotten myself into a regular pattern of reading, writing in my journal, and a commitment to post...WHAM!

Oops.

I fell down...and broke my tailbone.

Just this morning as I was lamenting not being able to sit and write out a new blog post, the light turned on. Literally.

Matthew - "Mommy! I have no more short sleeve shirts for tomorrow!"

Nevermind that he was already wearing a shirt and there were shirts that needed to be folded.  I simply smiled, kissed him saying "thank you" and told him I would wash more for him today. I figured he was only trying to help me plan my day.

My limited-in-which-tasks-I-can-do day. Another day in where I am completely at the mercy of my pain level and range of motion.  Add to the mix that I must have done something without thinking the other day and my tailbone really hurts again. I mean really hurts.

[grunt]

BUT this is not a pity party. Even if it were...I'm not attending.

Back to the purpose of this post, even if it is just for me.  As I lay in bed feeling sorry for myself and what I cannot do, our son's quick burst into my room and announcement was actually more of a reminder of what has actually been happening in our home. Somehow, instead of feeling worse...I smiled.  I smiled because I recognized that our son knew he had been a HUGE help in our home for the past several weeks.  He was (without saying), letting me know that he needed clean clothes to fold and that he would be willing to get the clothes out of the drying after school.

Why?

Because that has been our routine.

I can't really bend over and if something falls on the floor, I can't pick it up.  I don't have the back support strength to lift grocery shopping bags, sweep, vacuum, carry the laundry basket, clean the bathrooms, empty the dryer or dishwasher...etc.  BUT, I can do things at level while standing like dusting, baking, going through mail, looking out the window, walk short distances...slowly. AND all these things I CAN DO have been done with the children. I've been available to be with them.

This injury has limited me in so many ways that my busyness has dropped down to just above ZERO. My inability to do many tasks has given way to purpose and greater responsibility on our children. Now this isn't to say they didn't have chores before nor that our house is spotless.  It simply means that I have been FORCED to allow the children to go through the learning process of completing a task fully with hidden lessons for myself.

No, I can't simply load the dishwasher because I don't want to wait for the kids to come home. I can't bend over that low and I need to learn patience.

No, I can't just fold all the laundry myself because it would be faster. My back pain won't let me and I need to remember that pride can disguise itself in "just trying to be efficient".

No, I can't vacuum myself because I'll do a better job. I don't have the back strength and I need to teach proper technique with encouragement in order to not break their spirits.

And much, much, much more.

The quality level for these chores had been set low enough that the children are reaching them and they find great joy in accomplishing those tasks. So much so that they are beginning to aim higher and do better work.  It really has become a pleasure to watch and another lesson for myself to learn.

I had a choice. Either let the house go completely or allow a job to be completed with best effort, no matter the final appearance.  After all, isn't that exactly what God asks of me?  He wants my best effort. He doesn't want me to give up just because the things I want to accomplish aren't getting done the way I think they should be.

I have a choice. I can lay around all day and feel sorry for myself OR I can set a goal so low that I will reach it and feel I have accomplished something. Yes, I do have to lay for most of the day. I have to heal. It's not going to happen with me moving around and doing things. I may not be physically able do many things BUT, I can certainly disarm negative thought.

So for now, and because sitting is SO overrated, I'm going to set a small goal for myself. Every day I will find something, anything, that is worth remembering or being grateful for and post here as often as once a day. It may have words or it may just be a picture.  All I know is that I won't have to sit long to accomplish that goal.

This post took me THREE sitting sessions to complete.

Three.

Sitting is SO overrated!

Blessings for your day,