30 Days of Joy: Day 11-Health

Have you looked at any magazines lately?  They all have ads and articles for health products.

• Do you want to try yoga? 
•  Have you seen the latest exercise equipment? 
•  Here's a new diet supplement to try.  
• Try this new healthy recipe.   

Our society is very health conscious-often focused on the quest to create the perfect body.  Most of us take being healthy for granted.  When we are young, it's not something we think about unless we are using it as an excuse for getting out of school.  As a child, we play hard all day and sleep blissfully uninterrupted at night.  As teenagers, we push our bodies in sports.  The upcoming Olympics will be a showcase for these phenomenal youth.  I will be glued to the television watching their physical endeavors.  As a young adult, we push ourselves to excel and raise our families often at the expense of sleep.  We run on treadmills and work out at health clubs.  Poor health is something that we don't consciously think about as we are involved in our everyday lives.

For most of us, there comes a time when this physical prowess comes to an abrupt halt!  As a child, we fall off our bikes and skin our knees.  As we get older, we break an arm or leg skiing or skating.  As an adult, we do something stupid like stumble and fall down the stairs.  This is what happened to me today and is the reason this post is later than usual.

It was stupid.  I was walking downstairs holding a big basket of laundry.  I'm not sure what happened, but my foot slipped. I threw the basket down the stairs, grabbed the banister to catch myself (didn't work!), and landed on the laundry basket.  I am probably lucky that it cushioned my fall and that I had my cell phone in my pocket.  I grabbed it to call my son so he could help me onto the couch.  It was clear that my foot was the casualty and that I couldn't walk on it without a lot of pain.

I called my husband who rushed home so that we could take a trip to Urgent Care.  After x-rays, I heard the good news that my foot isn't broken.  However, the soft tissue is damaged.  I came home with my foot in a walking boot, crutches to help me walk, and pain meds for tonight.  While I am in pain and confined to my home for awhile, I feel great joy that my foot isn't broken.  So, that is what I am joyful about today!  I'll trade a few days laid up for weeks out of commission followed by months of recovery.  I trust that you have had a better day health-wise than I did.


Have you found your joy today?