Dribble. Pass. Get Dunked.
“Mom, I need someone to help me work on my basketball skills. Meet me in the driveway.”
Me: “What!?!”
“You just need to dibble and pass, and I’ll practice shooting.”
What to do when one is super-busy but called upon to dribble and pass?
My first instinct is to say: “No. It’s 2 o’clock on a sunny August afternoon in Louisiana… Hot! And I don’t know how to dribble and pass. And I’ll need appropriate shoes.” All excuses because I’m ‘super-busy’ doing things that are not important.
But instead, I say: “Ok. I’ll help you improve your game if all I have to do is dribble and pass.” Then I tell myself that I’ll take a 5-minute break from my writing to spend quality time with my youngest son and I meet him on the driveway in the blazing sun.
And it was fun! After a few minutes of finding my Michael Jordan moves—running around, dribbling and pretending to shoot, but instead passing the ball to my son—I thought I was back in high school. I tried a trick play. Big mistake. I landed wrong, fell to the concrete writhing in the pain of a twisted ankle and bloody knees. I’ll spare you the details, but I ended up in the emergency room of the local orthopedic clinic for x-rays. I didn’t break the ankle, just a bad sprain that required crutches and eventually a support boot. It’s been almost eight weeks and my ankle is still swollen and sore.
I’ll make two points from this experience:
First, it is so important to spend quality time with our children and grandchildren, even when we don’t want to do it (although, I don’t recommend playing Michael Jordan). I have no grandchildren, only grand-dogs and I enjoy spending quality time with them. Our time on earth is very short so make every minute count. Now that I’m over fifty it seems like I just can’t get enough time for the quality moments.
Secondly, even though I like to believe that I am a spring chicken, I am not. My joints ache every morning and I’m a lot slower than I use to be. But I stay semi-active by walking, gardening and playing an occasional game of tennis. I eat calcium-rich foods like yogurt, cheese, eggs and spinach; and I do take vitamins that strengthen my bones. I’m positive all these things protected my ankle bones in my fall.
It is vitally important to
Get active. I don’t like the gym or lifting weights, so I’ve found everyday activities to stay active and strengthen my “muscles and bones”, like hauling dirt around the yard when gardening.
Get the proper nutrition for your age. Nutrition.gov has some wonderful tools to help you determine what is right for you. Also, check out medicalnewtoday.com
Get regular health checks including a mammogram and bone density test. For more info go to Health.gov and lifespan.org
My day didn’t end badly, just the opposite. My findingJOY came from listening to the ones I love laugh and bond. My oldest son (12 years the senior to my middle-schooler) was my rescuer. After the emergency room visit, my eldest taught my middle-schooler to grill a fabulous tuna steak and I got dinner in bed.
Lagniappe The photo is of my middle-schooler serving me tuna steak dinner in bed after my coming home from the emergency room. Notice the cookie-sheet tray. Hey, it worked!
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