Moving Slowly

I try very hard not to take anything for granted in my life.  I prefer forethought to hindsight, despite how clear the latter can be.  But I realize now that I have taken simple movement for granted.  On New Year's Day, at 10:02pm, I broke my toe.  The one next to my baby toe on my right foot...and her two nearby friends are also fairly bruised up.  How do I know the exact time?  I was running through a darkened apartment, in a hurry to answer the ringing phone.  I forgot about the metal bed frame I had laid on my bedroom floor.  I ran into the bedframe at a run.  Pain radiated up my leg, but I managed to calmly answer the phone. It was a wrong number. 

The following day I went to Urgent Care, and found I had indeed broken a toe. For the past week, I have been learning what life is like for those who are not easily mobile.  Even now, when I am off the crutches, every movement on my feet has to be preplanned.  Too long on my feet, and it hurts, or worse, it goes numb.  I've spent a great deal of time sitting in a chair with my feet on a leather ottoman. 

Take today.  I had to do my bi-weekly grocery shopping first thing in the morning, because there was no way I could handle walking around Krogers after a full day at the office.  Going down the stairs to do laundry is an exercise in logistics.  And it made me miss out on my weekly session in the nursery....

Now I plan out my movements.  I know I have limited time on my feet, so I try to combine errands, tasks.  And I remember fondly about simply jumping up and running somewhere. Anywhere.

I will never take free movement for granted again.