Weak and Girly

So a coupla days ago, following a lot of rain and wind, I felt compelled to sweep out our garage. If you've ever seen our garage, you would think that an accumulation of fallen leaves was really NOT the problem. . .but in my little world, it is the easiest to fix. The garage is situated in such a way that any little breeze blasts whatever lightweight flotsam is in our driveway or yard directly into the garage, where it gets tracked into the house. . .ya-da ya-da ya-da.

But I digress. On this day, there were leaves and a bit of water on the floor. The water had dripped from our wet vehicles as we parked after commuting in a heavy rainstorm the night before. So, with my car running in the driveway, dressed up in my go-to-work costume, including heels, I set about a quick version of sweeping out the leaves with a wide broom.

Wish I hadn't plopped my heeled foot in a puddle. Down I went, and in that bizarre slo-mo recall of an accident, I felt both my knees turn at a funny angle just before my backside hit the wet (but leafless!!) concrete. So, I lay there for a minute asking myself, "am I all right?" For a second or two, I was more worried about my big fat butt, but thankfully, all that padding saved me. The dogs were barking like crazy, and I think I might have been whimpering a little bit. I dragged myself upright, and right then I knew that my knees were just not working the way they had a few moments before. I managed a lopsided and slow walk to the car. I felt a helluva lot better when I sat down.

I went ahead to work and though moving slowly, I got through the day with lots of Advil & sympathy from co-workers. That night, upon arriving home, I stepped on the stoop wrong, and the pain was excruciating...just couldn't help it, the tears rolled down. The dogs looked puzzled: AFter all, whimpering has been their gig. When D called, I boo-hooed into the phone! Thankfully, she rushed home & took care of the dogs, while I moaned and groaned. Going to bed did not help (and I refused to take the Vicodin we had lying around from a previous battle with an abcessed tooth.) You just don't realize how much you use your knees when you turn from one side to another in bed! It was an awful night. So, at oh-dark-30 the next day, I was doing what I should have done on Day One...Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation (RICE). And yep, CIS, also known as Calling In Sick.

I'm pleased to say after three days of taking it easy (but only one at home--I'm dedicated), my knees are much better. Not quite ready for a marathon yet (maybe in my next life...), but I can walk dogs and climb/descend stairs without fear of falling to my death.

My self-diagnosis? Just a sprain, and if things don't get any better, I'll ask the doc what he thinks. But it did give me pause to think about getting older. . .and the hazards of a simple misstep or fall.

Meantime, all those leaves that have since blown into the garage can just wait 'til I hook up the leaf blower and/or wear some flat shoes with lots o' traction.