Running with the Dogs

walking-at-night-2-h-koppdelaney
Photo credit: d.koppdelaney

Hugh and Mina loved to run, and I might be in my early-ish 60s, but I wasn’t so old I couldn’t indulge them. The summer evening was dark, but still warm. Running felt like flying with 30 pounds of dog pulling me along. Old neighborhood, tall trees in the tree lawns, their roots shaping the sidewalk. No street lamps.

My left arm extended forward, my connection to the dogs. My right arm swung behind me in balance as my right foot swept forward, not skimming over the pavement like it was supposed to, but finding the uphill slant of the cracked concrete square and stopping. Mid-stride.

Like hitting a brick wall, except the only thing that stopped moving forward was my foot. The rest of me fell, left shoulder wrenching as the dogs kept running, back of my right hand scraping skin off on the sidewalk in my frenzy to get it in front of me to stop my face from hitting the pavement. Utter fail.

My pubic bone hit first. Ultimately, the bruise grew to about 2″ by 5″, deep purple and red, very like bruises left by broken bones. I don’t have insurance. I won’t go to doctors. Your guess is as good as mine.

Next. The sound of a skull full of brain smacking into concrete is sickening, especially from inside the skull in question. Sickening, but oddly satisfying.

The only other person out was a woman standing six feet from my head, just about to cross the street. She turned and said,

“I heard that. Can I help you?”

I managed to sit, but I wasn’t ready to stand. In her kindness, she returned to her house to bring me a wet cloth to wipe the dirt from my face and hands, and the blood from my nose. I knew from the tenderness on its bridge exactly where I had broken it. The pain beneath one eyebrow warned me of the black eye. I was just muddled enough to be certain of a mild concussion. Crap.

Returning the cloth, which she hung on her fence while she continued on whatever errand took her across the street, I sat a few more moments to gather however many wits I could find. When I got to my feet, I contemplated going back home — a mere ten houses away. I would be able to clean up, take stock of my injuries, and lie down — an appealing idea.

Then I remembered Hugh and Mina hadn’t pooped yet. There they sat, waiting patiently while I got myself together, looking expectantly at me, ready to go whichever direction I decided. I squared my shoulders. We might as well finish this walk. Forward, not back.

That’s when I realized I’d passed the test. There is an age beyond which we are not meant to fall down. For me, that was years ago. But going forward from here, I officially became a badass when it comes to fighting this slow battle we call aging.

How about you? Are you up to the challenge?

 

(This is my response to DailyPosts Daily Prompt, “Test”. I thought I’d try something new. Shirley Dietz of I Just Have to Say… reminded me of this incident from a couple summers ago when she described her recent bike spill. Please go take a look; her point of view is always unique, and her writing is always excellent.)

Author: Sue Ranscht

Having survived valve repair surgery and an experimental cardiac bypass at age 5, three years before it was an accepted medical procedure, Susan grew into the size of her overworked and enlarged heart. Maybe she thought she had enough to give it away -- twice. Both times, she had to retrieve the shattered pieces and puzzle them back together. She thanks her Dad for the only advice of his she ever followed to the letter: "Never get married. Learn to take care of yourself." So of course she is a writer. Susan has co-written a YA SciFi novel, and has three more novels in various stages of evolution. She's had several short stories published in other people's anthologies, some of which were contest-related. Let her tell you a story...

31 thoughts on “Running with the Dogs”

    1. Haha! Not brave because I wasn’t scared. Maybe a little courageous, but probably mostly stubborn. lol. It’s those three little words Walt Disney left with those who carry on his legacy: Keep moving forward. Plus, the dogs still had to poop. 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  4. This brings back memories of me flying off an unreliable high wooden stool, stretching to clean a bathroom window on a slippery tiled floor and suddenly sailing through the air. I simply prepared myself by saying “This is gonna hurt”. It did. Took a moment to catch my breath, a little bruised and battered, got up and thankfully moving on by telling myself the worst part of the whole incident was the anticipation of hitting the ground.
    When you are a bit of a Perils of Pauline type person you learn very quickly how to “pick yourself up, brush yourself off and start all over again”🎤👍

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Lol. I never thought of myself as any little bit of a Perils of Pauline type person, but yes, although always I find the impact more painful than the brief anticipation, the inevitable conclusion has to be picking ourselves up… What else are we to do? Lie there and wait to die? Lol.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. Oh no! I hope you’re all right! Have you tried arnica for bruises…it helps with the pain too. Also calendula for grazes, etc. tea tree for cleaning-dilute that or it stings like hell..my mother walked around on a broken leg for three weeks before I could persuade her to go to the doctor- and she was a nurse! Hope you’re all right x

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Samantha. It was a couple summers ago, and there are no lingering effects. A friend gave me some Arnica at the time. It was the first I’d ever heard of it, but it did seem to ease the pain of the bruises. I’m not sure what I would have done if I’d broken an arm or a leg…

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  9. Great take on the prompt… I think I’m with you here. You are a tough cookie 🙂 Hope everything healed well… It’s always “funny” to read that people have no insurance as it’s something I simply don’t know. In Switzerland and Australia health insurance is compulsory. So you are covered on a “public treatment’ level. Private health insurance and certain “extras” are of course up to you but you are always covered for the basics. Like broken bones…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Etta. I have to admit I’m lucky I didn’t break and arm, leg, or hip. lol. The overall lesson of course, was no more running with the dogs. On an encouraging note, that section of sidewalk has since been repaired by the city without my having filed a law suit or made a formal complaint.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

I'd love to hear what you think.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.