left of center

I know I’ve been AWOL lately. I don’t have any good recipes to share. No cocktails, no new restaurants, no exotic vacation stories. I just have one story. I got hit by a car.

I dislocated and fractured my right shoulder when I was hit by a car while walking across the street. Other than this one (gargantuan) injury I didn’t have another bruise on me. I am beyond grateful that this wasn’t worse.  My right arm has been in a sling for over a month now, the bruises have faded a little, and I have officially hit the point where I’m over this. But I’m fairly certain I’ve got a long way to go before this is over.  Ginger kitty has been taking very good care of my lap.  Coe drew the short straw since it’s my frisbee throwing arm that’s out of commission, but she’s trying to be understanding.

We regularly encounter things in our day-to-day lives that test us on so many levels. This month’s test has been how to function with one hand. I had no idea how inhospitable the world was to lefties until that’s all I have to use.  A few of things that are a little challenging to me these days are washing my face, putting in contact lenses, spreading butter on toast, brushing my teeth, putting on deodorant, operating a computer mouse, opening a wine bottle, using my camera, putting on a belt, swiping my debit card… I think you get the picture. I’m up the proverbial creek with the wrong paddle.

My handwriting currently looks like that of a third-grader. Please don’t ask me to sign anything or even write anything very quickly. I can’t even type very quickly. Siri and I are now BFFs 😉 , actually Siri wrote this blog post for me.

I have worked so hard all my life to be independent and self-sufficient. This accident has chucked all of that out the window. Though I’m really proud of how proficient I have become with one hand. Some things have taken a little extra creativity and everything I do takes 2 to 3 times longer than it normally would. I’ve never been very good at asking for help but this has absolutely changed that. There are just some things you cannot do with one hand.  My girlfriends have gone well above and beyond the call of duty!

I really miss cooking. Y’all know how much I cook and bake. I don’t usually eat much processed food but not being able to cook has meant a lot more frozen meals. It took me several weeks to figure out how to cut a sandwich with only one hand. I’m not sure I will ever master chopsticks as a lefty.

I’m trying to stay as positive as possible and recognize the good things.  Though, some days this is easier said than done.  I’ve kind of come up with a little mantra… I am resourceful, I am resilient, and I am grateful.