What's Really Important, We Take for Granted

Have you ever considered what a marvelous thing it is to be able to stand up and easily walk across a room? Probably not. We don't give our ability to do that much thought. Tonight, I am much more appreciative of something as seemingly small as being able to do this. You see, tonight I cannot do that.

Yesterday, I joined a few members of my family at a baseball game at Minute Maid Park. The women were at a shower for my daughter, Heather. Us men folk, we were at the ball game. It was a lot of fun to be able to share this time with the guys. We don't get to do this very often. We get busy and so we have to grab these moments when we can. Anyway, I am digressing.

After the game, Ben, Heather's fiance, and I were walking back to my car. We crossed the street and the entrance to the parking lot was blocked by a wire rope draped across the driveway. Ben stepped over the rope and I proceeded to do so. But my right foot got caught on the steel rope and I tripped. I fell hard on my left knee and Ben had to help me to my feet. I felt a little woozy and a bit nautious in my stomach, as it does sometimes when one has a fall like this. I hobbled as far as a chain link fence and had to stop to catch my breath. My knee really hurt and it was a real effort to keep going without my left leg collapsing under me.

Ben asked me if I needed some help getting to our car, which was about thirty yards ahead. I gratefully accepted his help and I also accepted his offer to drive back to my other daughter's house. Once there I got ice on my knee and when I finally felt up to it, I got to my car as best I could and drove home.

That was yesterday. Today I just stayed off my feet and decided not to go into work. I can get around a little better today, but not much better. I have to make sure I have something to hold onto and I can only move very carefully and slowly.

I missed the Fathers Day Brunch that everyone in the family went to this morning. Just getting to the bathroom or going into the kitchen to get something to eat becomes a major effort. Some of the things I needed to do today, I didn't even consider trying to do.

On the bright side, both my daughters called me to wish me Happy Fathers Day and to make sure I was okay. And my good friend, Roland, called to check up on me and to offer to bring me over some food if I needed him to do so. I was reminded once again about another important thing. I am rich in people who love me and who care about what happens to me.

Thankfully, I am on the mend. But in the future I will remember what I am going through right now, after I regain my normal mobility. What I know now is that it is not a small thing in the larger realm of things. But it takes being stopped dead in my tracks and debilitated at least briefly to make me realize this and to properly value the "small" things in my life.