#Microblog Mondays: Fall Down, Get Back up

Please note the ghost of Bryce in the window...he's tall which is why this is so top-down. It makes me look super short, which I'm not, but it also has a slimming effect, which I'm not complaining about. 

There's a Japanese proverb that goes something like this: "Fall down seven times, get up eight."

I feel like this is my mantra for life February, because it has been a lot of falling down and getting back up.

Most recently, in a literal sense.

We went on an ice skating field trip on Friday, the last day before February Break. I was psyched, because I used to skate as a young person all the time and even took lessons (I was no Olympiad or anything, originally it was suggested as something to strengthen my weak ankles and other joints)...so I was like, "Wahoo! Ice skating! During the school day!"

The skates are different now -- more like ski boots with two clamps instead of laces and those tie hooks (which honestly felt far more stable than these new-fangled plastic things).

I started slow and then felt at ease in my skates, started speeding up, hit a curve too fast and...WHOOSH BOOM. Skates in the air, hard fall on my left side, elbow hit and hyperextended.

The FIRST thing I did was look around to see if anyone saw me dump it, and then I held my throbbing elbow and thought, "Oh shit, I hope I didn't hurt myself."

But I got back up (with the help of a hockey helper). And I kept skating, albeit slower for a while. I didn't try any of the tricks I knew when I was a teenager, because apparently when you turn forty your balance is different, your center of gravity has shifted, and you just aren't as nimble as you were when you last skated over a decade ago. Go figure.

I did end up spending three hours I'll never get back in Urgent Care on Saturday, to make sure I hadn't broken anything (still can't straighten it all the way and it's wicked sore and swollen on either side of the joint), which I didn't. I got a swanky sling, and I have to take it easy.

So many people didn't realize I'd fallen though...and I think it's because I got up quickly and got right back to skating. Stand up, brush yourself off, slow it down a bit, and KEEP GOING. Yeah, that sounds like life February to me all right. Fall hard, don't let them see just how much it hurt, keep smiling through the tumbles in hopes that it'll be smoother skating ahead.

Want to read more #Microblog Mondays? Go here and enjoy!