Magical Protection

This week at work, I was playing outside with a group of preschoolers.  They were chasing me around and one said he was going to "save me" by offering me "magical protection" (a hula hoop).  When I made a big deal over my "magical protection," the children scoured the outdoor play area collecting all of the "magical protection" they could find and placed them around me.  Another child then said that the other teacher needed some too so we gave her half.  The boy who originally offered me the "magical protection" then found a shell in his pocket and asked for some chalk so he could draw the creature who used to live in the shell.  Since we were playing a new game, I decided to drop the rest of my "magical protection" onto the ground.  There was no chalk out (since it had been raining) so we went to get some out of the closet. As I was carrying the box and talking to a few of the children, I didn't see that another child had stopped riding their bike right at my feet.  I fell over the child and the tricycle.  In an effort to help the child, I landed hard on my left knee, caught myself on my left wrist and took a handlebar to the inside of my right thigh.

Luckily the child that I fell over was 100% fine (he was just really shaken up/scared) and I'm hoping that he learned something since we have been talking to all of the kids about how unsafe it is to stop a bike right where someone is walking.  In the process of "saving" him, I injured myself though.  My knee is swollen and sore, my wrist started to hurt the day after I fell and I have a huge bruise on my thigh from where the handlebar hit.  I guess I should have kept the "magical protection"...

The other teacher outside with me shouted in the door to the supervisor to let him know that I was injured and he and another co-worker came running with ice.  They both looked crestfallen when I reminded them that I can't use ice, even for an injury due to a weird skin allergy.  Since I had my dance bag in the car, I gave one of them my keys and asked for them to bring it in for me because I still have my knee brace in it just in case I need it.  Even though it's been a few days, it is still sore but it is starting to feel some better.

Granted, I started the day by telling people that I wanted/needed to stay distracted but getting injured like this was not the way I wanted to go about it.  The reason I needed/wanted to stay distracted that day in particular is it marked what would have been my wedding anniversary.  I don't know if I was trying to prove something to myself or others by being "tough" on that day and not have things bother me but getting hurt made me think about it...  I didn't think about him per sae but it made me think about missing having someone by my side.  While I was at work, I could ask my co-workers for assistance (which I think shocked them since I don't hardly ask for help) but at home, I didn't have anyone to ask.

I also sent my Dad a message in the day to tell him that I had been thinking about that particular day nine years ago.  Dad had offered to "run interference" as I ran out the double doors of the church as he walked me down the aisle.  I told Dad that I have thought about that statement some on and off over the last few years.  While Dad and I were sending messages back and forth, he reminded me that if I would have run off, who knows where I may/may not have ended up in many different aspects of my life.

I know that I do have to think about the "butterfly effect" and realize that every time you make a decision/choice it can have an effect on another one.  I guess I just have to realize that I am in a better place because of what I've been through and just continue to focus on what I do have and am learning rather than focus on what I had in the past.  We'll see what else I have to face this week.

Oh, on a good note!  My dance instructor has opted to no longer close the studio but just take a month or so off just after the first of the year and then we'll join together again.  YAY!!  =)