The Fall

The universe acts in weird ways. I think I've finally figured out something or have turned a new page in my life and BAM things just go in the direction they want to whether I'm ready or not. Or as my friend Robert Lester says, "The grandfathers turn up the heat when we don't listen to what they have to say". Well the heat has been turned up and I've been burned. After a good 4000 miles or so riding in SE Asia without a scratch I crashed off my bike last month and fractured my left wrist. All those crazy highways and insane Bangkok streets and killer mountain passes and I'm fine. Here on the back roads of a quiet little island I get cocky and try some steering tricks and come slamming down onto the pavement. This happens on the way to training for my first job as a massage therapist...ONE DAY AFTER I GET MY MASSAGE LICENSE IN THE MAIL!! When I hit the ground my4th and 5th fingers went instantly numb which I guess is a blessing because the rest of my twisted wrist and hand hurt like I'd never felt before (since I have never actually broken a bone before) and I hope to never feel again.

But now, a month later this is all old news. After a $20,000 surgery and a month of walking around with a gimpy left wrist I'm feeling weak, lazy and fat (not to mention the $20,000 debt thing). I want to feel strong and pain free again. And I just want to ride my bike dammit! OK, so I'm whining...I'm allowed, i earned it. I know intellectually it's too soon but I don't care. When I go to do something simple like open a door or wipe my butt I remember why I'm not yet on my bike...BECAUSE IT FREAKING HURTS!

So many lessons to learn here...patience, humility, pain control, and all the blessing in my life that I'm once again reminded to be appreciative of. Like the fact that I'm alive. Like the fact that I'm generally healthy. Like the fact that I have wonderful people in my life like my family and my friends. Sure I might whine but I know in the big picture all is good baby. Within 20 minutes after my crash, as I was in a car heading to the medical center here in Friday Harbor, I saw a young man with cerebral palsy or some other type of neurological disorder walking down the street. Maybe I was delirious or in shock but I was just so appreciative of all the gifts of health and strength I've been given during this lifetime. It's only my wrist, thank you god.
Thanking god for a fractured wrist may constitute insanity. But so is riding down the middle of Bangkok traffic with The Specials blaring from my iPod. So is sleeping out in a jungle in Thailand with no food or water. Come to think of it so are most of the things I have chosen to do lately so I guess that defines me as insane. Welcome to my world.
But the title to today's blog refers as much to my new found job situation as it does my cycling skills. I've fallen from the responsible place of ER nurse to almost being a massage therapist to...Spa Boy. Which would be a great name for a blog I think. Waiting for my wrist to heal my new boss, the spa director kept me on as a receptionist/spa attendant. I'm grateful for that as it keeps some money coming in while I recover. But making a little more than I did in high school at age 45 is humbling. The fall. Status, perfect health, financially responsible. It's been a long summer and it isn't even half over. But just as I can see the benefits in lessons needing to be learned from breaking my arm, there is one benefit of being the spa boy...lots of writing material. Coming soon...the eyebrow emergency.