TAKING THE LONG COUNT IN THE BUCKET

Now it's personal--I fell down last week in the driveway and could not get up! I yelled so loud that  a neighbor came over and then she went and got another neighbor who was raking his yard. They had no problem, and as soon as I stood I could feel that my legs were weight bearing and except for a foot that had twisted under me and a  bruised tailbone, I seemed to be basically OK,

 My father was an amateur boxer and he gave me a boxer's advice when I was a little girl.  He told me to take the long count.  I used that phrase as the refrain in one of my ghazals and here it is.

Ghazal Take the Long Count

You are going to get knocked down, yes, you are.

Life will knock you down. What next? Take the long count.

You just over swing, lose your balance, catch a roundhouse.

Watch his jab, a swarmer applied the brake: the long count.

Tripped yourself up, it feels like Kid Gavilan pounding.

Then you meet the canvas. Piece of cake, the long count.

Don't jump to your feet to show that you can. Surprise!

That was just a stumble, a little mistake—the long count.

No, stay there, lay still, you deserve a rest, breathe.

Relax, think of Tunney and Dempsey, fake their long count.

When he reaches “eight”, begin to get up very slowly.

Stand, shuffle a bit, just stand don't shake the long count.

The ref looks you over, check you out, don't rush to the guy.

He waits in the neutral corner, now forsake the long count.

Make him come to you, he's dying to finish you off.

All done with dying, Norma, you're awake- the long count.


Yes, I am in recovery mode which is my version of the long count in daily life.
I do feel better now that a  few days have passed. My foot and tailbone are not aching as much and my back is more normal. But I do feel compromised. I have not been outside since it happened because I'm wary of the concrete stairs coming into the house. I also am going to enforce my  habits of getting home way before twilight. 

I still had my personal trainer Ed come on the next day.  It was a temptation to cancel, but then I decided that even if  I did not do as much as usual, it would be better if  he saw me and could see the extent of the change.

In a funny way the enforced pause has made me more a part of ADVENT. We have a little living tree an Alberta Spruce.  I ordered it from Breck's gifts complete with tiny lights and  wooden birds as decorations.  No need to plug it in, it has its own battery pack and switch.

Today the feeling of exhaustion has left.  I do feel relieved also because the down time has enabled me to get my Xmas shopping finished online.
THAT SEEMS LIKE A MIRACLE TO ME!