the difference a day makes

I read about personal tragedies and think, just an hour before, everything was fine.

Before the diagnosis.

Before the car crash.

Before the storm hit.

Before the phone rang.

Before the murder.

It really is scary how quickly a life can change. One minute life is fine and the next it's not.

This is a blog about the everyday. The forgettable stuff that happens and is just part of living. But when something major occurs (or that at least feels major),  it does make you pause.

Okay, my one day of pain was no big deal. Certainly not in light of everything else that can go wrong.  But at the time, especially since I didn't know the pain would be so fleeting, it felt monumental. And it did make me think.

Living alone is great, but not when you need help. I learned how lucky I am to have friends to call who will be there in a flash, no questions asked.

Be prepared. I had Aleve and Advil in the house that still had a year to go before expiring. Food in the fridge. Peas in the freezer.  (Though I'm now ordering two different sized FlexiKold Gel Cold Packs on Amazon).

Listen to people whose medical advice you trust. M told me to ice my hip but it took me a day before I did. 

The internet isn't always the best source. Often it alarms more than helps.

Don't sweat the small stuff —like my now-swollen right foot from tripping over the metal shower track on my tub — or the 10 big fly bites that I took home with me from the Cape.

left arm

right arm

Health is a precarious thing that can alter in a second. I am grateful for being part of a family blessed with good health. My mom, at almost 88, is the best example. She walks two to three miles a day, is fun to be around, and looks and acts like a woman years younger. Plus, she still beats me in gin; last time 4 games to 1.

Still hobbling, but no pain. Life is good.