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Monday, December 2, 2013

The Girl's Still Got IT!


Sunday was wonderful--BETH AND JONATHAN CAME TO CHURCH WITH US.

Let's not forget that normally they are in the wonderful place called Washington DC. We were lucky enough that this weekend, amidst all their family time, they squeezed us in. It was seriously so good to see them.

And they convinced both Jared and I that Dominion is the game for us. (At least for me)

Then I made homemade bread for dinner. Yes, that was pretty much it...we did have some vegetables. Cause it's not dinner without some veggies!

Now I'd like to tell a story.

Once upon a time, almost 3 years ago now, a young girl went on a hike in Wales. The walk went over mountains, through clouds and sheep pastures, past old brick houses and along merry lanes of grass. The girl grew tired and somewhat lost. She and her friends decided to stop and ask for directions to a magical place called Big Pit. They only assumed it was magical, not having been there before. 

Then, this girl, adventurous to the extreme, decided to leap a low lying wall instead of walking around it. She took a few steps back, started running and LEAP! her left leg made it over the wall, but her right shin crashed right into the brick edge. Gouged and bleeding the girl hobbled into the gas station and begged for bandages. Once cleaned up, she and her friends continued walking to the place of Big Pit. A magical experience indeed. 

Now for another story. 

Three years later, this same girl, although a bit older, has no less a sense of adventure. Maybe we should call it a feeling of indestructibility. She feels that she can do ANYTHING! So one night, alone in her apartment, waiting for her cute husband to come home (the one that made the adventure to Big Pit so worthwhile), she decided to do some yoga to work off her Thanksgiving turkey belly. Having stretched and limbered up quite well. She proceeded to practice her handstands against a wall. All went well. She moved to another room, to give herself more space and so she could practice without a wall in front of her. So close to getting up on her own, she decided that she really needed more space in front of her, that way, if she toppled over forward, she could somersault and avoid injury. 

Up she kicked her legs, her hands pressed to the floor. Almost fully extended, she lost her balance and fell. Sideways. Into a doorway. As she lay curled up on the floor moaning, her husband walked in. "Are you napping?" No. Look at my shin. There's a piece of it on the wall. 

My leg. On the wall. It's a very sharp corner.

Another one. Added to the broken toe, you'd think I'd learn to settle down eh?

If you look closely at my right leg, you can see the indentation from my run- in with the Welsh Wall. I lost a good chunk of flesh that day. 

I just started a new book. It's called Little Bee. In it, the main character (Little Bee) says, "We must all see scars as beauty...A scar means I survived."

Granted in this case, I was just being stupid. Clearly our apartment is NOT big enough for handstands. But I thought that quote has a powerful message. And I've always been proud of my scars--they provide me with stories to tell. My scars prove to me that I have lived, and I have had some pretty amazing experiences. Sorry about the graphic images. 

Do you have any favorite scars?


 

3 comments:

  1. I read that book years ago (#literaturehipster), so you'll have to let me know what you think of it. That's a lovely quote that I forgot about! And oh, Alex, you are my favorite. Please pass some of this "I can do anything!!!" my way.

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  2. You are such a bad A. I love you tons.

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