Can We Talk 2

Puling Weeds

         It seems I am frequently pulling weeds. I am not a good gardener and I don't invest a lot of money in chemicals, organic or otherwise, or special tools. So I work a little at a time. I don't have the stamina for the heat or mosquitoes to do much at one time. And as everyone knows, weeds never stop!

         About 2 1/2 weeks ago, I had been cleaning up the yard, picking up things left by the children for the trash, etc., when I became distracted by the vine weeds growing across the ground into a flower bed I no longer maintain. I was bending over to pull them up, since I can't get up from a kneeling position any longer, when a bee came buzzing at me. Unfortunately, I am a cheapskate and was wearing old Nike shoes that were coming apart. I thought just for yard work, it doesn't matter how they look. The tops looked fine, but the soles were splintering. I had tried Gorilla glue, but that doesn't work like in the commercials. Small bits were still coming loose. As I turned to get away from the bee, I tripped and fell hard and fast. I believe the shoes had something to do with it, but it happened too fast to be sure. It may be that I was light headed from standing up straight and turning so quickly. I landed on my shoulder and my cheekbone. Then I couldn't get up, just like that old lady in the ad I've seen for decades!

         I cried like a baby because I hurt. Then I told myself that was stupid, and the bee was still buzzing over me. I yelled for help, but no one could hear. I got my hands up and dragged myself up the incline to the next flower bed which I had bordered with rocks. The bee landed on my face and neck several times, but I scooped him up with my hand and tossed him aside, fearful that he would really get angry now. I got up to the rocks and put my hands on them and pushed my upper body up. I thought I'll be here the rest of the day. I pulled one foot up so the bottom could be flat on the ground. These small actions that we take for granted become very detailed when we're struggling. When I got my arms up as high as they could go, I raised my butt off the ground and managed to get some weight on that one foot. I pulled the other leg up behind me, still balancing on my hands. When I could get my feet closer to my hands, I slowly stood up.

         I turned and headed to the house, knowing I had at least one sting on my arm, not knowing about others. I climbed the stairs more quickly than usual, being motivated to get out of the heat and get water and medicine. I ended up with only one sting, a heck of a black eye, a skin abrasion and bruise on my shoulder. I had a cut on my eyelid and one tiny one in the circle under my eye, and mud on the back of my shirt shoulder. I don't know how it got on the back, when the bruise was on the front and the scabs on top. I put ice on my puffy eye and drank cold water in the cool of the house. I finally found the antihistamine cream for the sting.

         I sat dazed for a while worried about my vision. Apparently, I did everything right because the swelling went down in about 12 hours. I didn't discover the shoulder injury right away, and that didn't bother me later. I am on blood thinner, however, so falling is always a dangerous thing. I was glad I didn't call 911, because I would have spent the rest of the day in ER. It turned out okay this time, although most of the time a blow to the head can be a severe problem for people on blood thinners.

         What I learned, though, is I survived this accident. I am a tough. I'm not going to sit and wait for the end to come. I will keep pulling weeds and trimming shrubs, just a little at a time. A few years ago, I could crawl on the ground under the shrubs and trees to trim them or pull weeds, but that's never happening again. That's okay. I will do what I can and what I want. By the way I still have a bruised shoulder, and a black eye, although the purple spot has gotten smaller.