My Motorcycle Injuries

It was 5 years ago today that the accident occurred. My bike didn’t make it, but I did. So many great and wonderful things have happened in my life since, yet the memories of the early days after the accident remain quite vivid. Still, life really does go on, and it always will. The accident occurred on a return trip home after getting my haircut. I’m celebrating the day with a haircut later. Yes indeedy, I’m a party animal who tempts fate.

I remember the days in which I would work at my office and look forward to the time of day when I could leave work, go home, and relax. Those days seem so long ago to me now after five years of working mostly out of my house and laboring daily to “get better”. I’m thinking that at this point I’m about as “better” as I’m going to get. I still stay home a lot, but it’s all about sustaining a certain level of well-being at this point. I usually only go to the office during the week for a few hours at a time. Today I went to work with a long list of things that had to be done and I actually felt a sense of elation when I entered the office building and got to work. The list of things to be done included studies, a sermon outline, bookkeeping, filing, copying, errands, general office work, and grounds maintenance. I didn’t know how much I would get done when I started, but by 2 p.m. it became obvious to me that I would be able to finish it all if I stayed a few hours later than I had planne...

 A week from today (November 29 th ) marks the five year anniversary of the accident. It happened on the day after Thanksgiving in 2013, but this year the date falls on the week after Turkey Day. Still, the Thanksgiving holiday has always seemed strongly linked to the accident within my mind. It’s early morning now as I post this entry and in just a little while we’ll be going to a relative’s house nearby for the day. There will be fifteen of us this year and we will spend the whole day together eating, conversing, playing games, and watching TV. Many of the people that I will be with today were at the hospital or close by throughout the ordeal after the accident. I don’t really know what to think about this day beyond the obvious. I know that I will spend the day having a nice time with people that I love. I know that we will all be in a festive mood and several of us (not me) will be busy in preparing breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I know that we will share aspects of our lives an...

I’ve noticed something a little weird about lifting weights recently. I usually do my routine in ten sets of ten repetitions. Lately I’ve been using the weights for upper body strength by working with a set of dumbbells for the sake of biceps, triceps, and shoulders. I’ve been working hard on getting past a problem with my one arm that seemed to originate at the point of injury where my bone was broken near the wrist in the accident. The strange thing that I have noticed is that I don’t have trouble with the last set of ten repetitions, but rather with the very first set. One would think that the last set should be the one that causes me to struggle with exhaustion, but it’s actually the first set that I strain with the most. After the first set it almost feels as though I’m the Tinman in The Wizard of Oz after Dorothy applies oil to all of his joints. Suddenly I’m free to move and work again. I have no problem with the remainder of the workout as long as I get through that first set. ...

Our church had a K-12 school ministry for many years. The so-called Great Recession that began in 2008 caused us to eventually close the school because the financial burden became too great. For many years I worked with 6 or 7 people on staff. Additionally, there was always a host of students, parents, and others who served or delivered to the property during the regular workweek. Things were always busy in the office and active throughout the property. In the summer of 2009 it all changed, and I became the sole person at the church property from Monday through Friday. I grew accustomed to the change within time and always kept busy between studies, office work, personal visits, and property maintenance. I adjusted fairly quickly to the school’s closing, and working alone never really bothered me. In fact, not having a bunch of kids around making noise all day wasn’t all that difficult of an adjustment for me (know what I’m sayin’?). My schedule has now changed significantly since the ...