Dear Reader:

The ” X” I placed on the bottom step ( in the title” picture) was deliberately put there for a photo moment … marking the spot where I fell Sunday night. Yikes!

As scary as it was… God really came through for me on this accident… the classic case of mind racing …ahead of the moment…or just simply not paying attention to what I was doing.

After getting home Sunday evening from Eloise’s dance recital… I fixed some supper, started writing Monday’s blog post and then began watching some Christmas specials. Somewhere along the way I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until about 11:30… the television still going.

Completely disoriented from the unexpected late night nap… I jumped up to turn off all the Christmas lights and get ready for bed. I turned the Christmas tree lights off first… and quickly came down the two steps leading to the den … my mind racing ahead …making a mental list of everything that needed unplugging.

One second I was coming down the steps and the next I was sprawled on the floor wondering what happened… by racing ahead of the moment …I figured out I skipped the last step and thought I was on ground level.

My upper right leg took the brunt of the fall… a little higher or over… it probably would have been my hip. I got my Christmas present hurry… nothing broken… just bruised and sore. ( Thank goodness I had my physical and Prolia bone density shot about two weeks ago! )

I didn’t sleep much the rest of the night… not from pain ( just sore) but the ” What if” elves arrived with one terrible scenario after another… a broken hip would have had me in surgery followed by rehab… not how one wants to spend Christmas! God, most certainly, was giving me a ” caution” sign to SLOW DOWN! Believe me… It worked. Chilled all day yesterday! Didn’t leave the house.

Since I wasn’t sleeping well from the late evening nap and the ” What if” nocturnal elves’ visits… my mind wandered back to Eloise’s dance recital. I sat between the two boys, Rutledge and Lachlan, and mercifully Mollie kept the treats coming… as long as they were eating peace reigned and sighs silenced.

I am a people watcher and was perfectly content to watch the reactions of the people in the auditorium. I told Mollie ( when we got home) I learned something new about generational men… fathers and grandfathers.

The young fathers spent most of the recital dragging screaming or restless siblings out of the auditorium… I heard one father admonishing his pre-schooler son… ” But you have already peed five times already!” ( the little boy had the cutest grin on his face. ) Freedom!

But with the grandparents, surprisingly more so … the grandfathers, they seemed completely at ease in the situation… patient and kindly holding restless grandchildren siblings -even reading little books with small flashlights on their laps… and when their granddaughters finally performed…the most beautiful smiles came on their faces as they thunderously clapped in sheer glee… even wiping tears running down their cheeks.

So until tomorrow… Aging does have its benefits… time has become the greatest gift to retired baby boomers… no deadlines… but finally time to spend with family and friends. The realization hits home that time is more precious than anything else and leaving legacies to loved ones becomes the most valued goal in life!

Each Christmas becomes more special because nothing is taken for granted… find joy in the moment!

Today is my favorite day -Winnie the Pooh