I may or may not have a broken wrist. The boys came home from their dad's this evening, and the first thing they wanted to do was ride their bikes to the park. After a week without them, I wasn't about to miss out on the opportunity to spend time with them.
After a little swinging, a little sliding, and a little climbing, one of the boys suggested we play "Capture the Flag." I tried to play the Tired Mom Card, but they would have none of it. So my team hid our flag (Eli's shoe) and the other team hid theirs. As the game goes, we ran to their side and tried to capture their flag before they could capture ours. Asher was well into our territory, and I had him cornered. There was no way out. He was going to be tagged and thrown into our jail.
I took off after him. He ran as fast as he could. I ran faster. There in my short, flowing, black skirt and flip flops, I reached out my arm to touch his back. I had him... until I stepped onto the concrete underneath the shelter. The smooth concrete is slick enough, but when you step in the one, small puddle that collected on that concrete from today's brief rain, it's even slicker.
I fell first on my wrist, then my knees, followed by my shoulder and then my entire side slid across the cement.
"I'm okay," I told the boys, as I felt hem gather around me. "My wrist and knees hurt but I'm okay."
I took one for the team tonight. When we hid our flag, I thought about keeping my boys from that puddle because I didn't want them to fall, but when the moment came for me to catch my enemy, I forgot all about that puddle and that slippery cement and went full force toward my goal.
Sometimes when we live in the moment, and we put all we have in running toward what we want, we are going to get hurt. The hurt won't last forever; we may have to limp along for a while or take a break to ice our wounds, but the experience of living life to its fullest is definitely worth it. So, take one for the team once in a while, even if it means a broken bone here and there. Bones heal but memories last forever.