pulverization

I had forgotten that going swimming with junior high kids is a full-contact sport. I think I have cuts and bruises on every limb. My right leg is suffering the most, with at least 8 new bruises and a sporty new cut on the knee. As if they weren't scarred enough from the myriad times I have tripped over my toes, rollerbladed into rock piles, or flipped my bike. I'm mildly surprised to actually have all my limbs and my brain in working order after the many accidents I've had. I was recently teaching a piano student and I moved my chair backwards for some un-remembered reason...unfortunately the reason was so un-remembered that the moment after I moved the chair, I went to sit back down and was surprised to find myself sitting on the floor, in front of my chair. Or how about the time I hit a rock the size of my fist while on my bike and went head-over-heels...causing my bike wheel to look like a potato chip and leaving my knobby portions looking like freshly pulverized meat. Or the time I wasn't paying attention on rollerblades and painfully discovered that a section of the sidewalk was out and had been replaced with rocks. Or the time I looked up from rollerblading and ran into a biker going the other way, causing permanent hip disfunction. Or the time I apparently got in the way on the sledding hill and ended up taking a most interesting trip to the hospital in the ambulance.

I'm somewhat ashamed that my accidents never happen because I'm doing a sweet wheelie or a triple-axle on my blades. Nope, no glory for me. Just guts.