“Thank god you have strong bones.” That’s what the physician’s assistant said to me this weekend via a One Medical video chat after I fell down a set of stairs in my apartment building. I was carrying Phineas down the stairs to protect his back when I slipped; the irony isn’t lost on me. As I was falling, I told myself “protect Phineas, don’t hit your head, stay flexible.” Thankfully, I completely protected Phineas from getting hurt, I didn’t hit my head, and I didn’t break any bones. I’m just very sore and bruised. I can’t really sit down comfortably for more than a few minutes so I stand or lie down on one side.
I took the required weekend of rest to mostly be offline, sleep, read, take a lot of pain meds, apply ice packs, and meditate. Now that the holiday season is upon us, we turn to reflection, evaluation, and contemplation. What’s going well in life? What’s not going well? What could be better? And how could we make it so?
I’m right there with you. I have a lot to be thankful for. I also have a lot of things that I want to be better. I imagine 2017 will hold a lot of change for me. Some of it I can already see coming and I’m actively planning for. Some of it will be a total surprise to me. Because that’s how life is. We make decisions, we plan, and then we fall down a flight of stairs so we have to adjust. Lately, everything feels like we’re going up the down staircase. Maybe we always were, and now we’re just waking up to the reality of it all.
In this time of uncertainty, I trust in this idea: No matter what happens, if we remain flexible and ready to protect what we love and value at all costs, then we will make it through. We may end up sore and bruised, but we will survive. We may end up down for a bit, but let’s not count ourselves out of the race. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
Christa Avampato 