Becoming Bendable

I seldom have a day that anything goes as planned. My life has been so unpredictable and I learned a long time ago that I had to become a bit more bendable. It was more important to end the day with a smile than lay my head on the pillow filled with regrets.

Please forgive me if you have heard this particular story before. I am not afraid to share my fruity moments and this is one I've shared on more than one occasion.

As my regular readers and friends know, when I was 24 I had a massive car accident. It left me with a lifetime of injuries and "adjustments." I had to learn to walk again. The first few years after my accident were a trip. And occasionally I did just that..."trip!" Hah! Couldn't help myself.

Anyhoo. I was also in college at the time. I had to take a semester off (obviously) and but I got back to school as soon as I physically could. And honestly, the challenge of school was just what I needed to recover from some of that emotional stuff that one goes through after a traumatic event. But, that's not the point of my story. Moving on!

One day before class I parked my car in front of one of the buildings of my small college, opened the door, grabbed my backpack and stepped out. Well. I actually scooted out. My hip was crushed in the car wreck and put back together with a a bunch of pins and screws My range of motion has never been the same. And in those early years of learning to move again were fraught with danger and uncertainty. 

That day when I "scooted" out of the car my pants fell down.

Yep. They didn't just fall down a little. They pooled down around my ankles, leaving the rest of me exposed to the elements and the general public. 

It would happen that I was on a busy college campus. Which was in front of a busy road.

I had to fall back in the car so I could pull my pants back up. My injuries didn't allow me to bend down. I was laughing so hard I thought I might lose control of my bladder. After I gathered my self (and my pants) together, I realized the elastic in the pants had snapped. I bunched my pants up around my waist and waddled (very carefully) into the building.

From office to office I trotted. Trying in vain to find someone with a safety pin. By the time I got to the other end of the building all that I could manage to come with was a big paperclip. But I sure entertained a lot of folks that day. And I'm sure I contributed to some nightmares of small children who might have been driving with their parents by the campus that day.

I should have just gathered myself together and drove home.But why do things the easy way? I needed to make a complete fool of myself.

Have you ever times in your life when things didn't go expected? When something happened that caught you off guard? It would have been easier for me to become hysterical in that moment. But, at that time in my life I had learned that exposing my granny panties to most of town wasn't worst thing that could happen. I had experienced some of the "worst." It became another event in a long line of things that just happen.

I have a few other stories of things that happened during this tender transition in my life. It's not easy to figure out all of the moving parts when all of your moving parts have had to be put back together. Unfortunately, most of these stories I can only share with ladies groups :<)

Over the past 16 1/2 years (!) I have improved...at least I can bend down and touch my toes...but I will never be the same. I have had to learn to do things just a little bit differently.

How does translate that into my everyday life? 

I can't sweat the small stuff. I have to keep perspective on what truly is important. Not that it's easy all the time. Occasionally, I still fall apart over that spilled glass of apple juice, that unexpected visit to the repair man or that bill that comes in the mail (that we weren't expecting...yikes!) Or how about bad report from the doctor (been there...done that) or a child who has some learning challenges (mmm).

 I have had to learn to become bendable. I still haven't learned to keep safety pins in my purse. Maybe I can take the next 16 1/2 years to learn that one.


I'm linking up to the Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog Cruise..."When Things Don't Go As Planned."