It's a Sign...of Something (Maybe)

When something unusual happens people sometimes say, “It’s a sign.” I’m not sure if I believe in that stuff but I’m not sure I don’t.

Take yesterday, for example. I was walking on the sidewalk when I glanced up at a small airplane flying lower than usual. The next thing I knew, I was in a crumpled heap on someone’s grassy parkway strip, clutching my ankle. It was sprained and it hurt! Naturally, it was the same ankle I’d sprained badly exactly twelve months before.

Some people would insist that my ankle injury was a sign. Of what, I’d ask? A sign that I should watch where I’m walking? (This argument does hold some water—or in this case an ice pack—because last December’s ankle sprain occurred when I waved at a neighbor and managed to turn my ankle off the sidewalk and onto the parkway strip.) Of course, I can’t buy into that sign because I’m female and therefore I multi-task. Usually I can walk and do something else at the same time. Furthermore, the point of getting outdoors is to experience what is there, and I cannot subscribe to a life spent staring at the sidewalk.

So was yesterday’s fall a sign? Maybe it’s a sign that December will hold injury for me. Period. It’s a busy month. Maybe I’m extra distracted because I’m extra busy getting ready for Santa’s arrival. Perhaps I need to clad myself in full body armor between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Injury happens. Be ready.

Some people might interpret yesterday’s fall as a sign that I need to slow down. Pfffft. I think not. I need to speed up! I have tons to do and not enough time! Of course, some might say that falling, and thus needing to ice the ankle, could lead to my finishing projects I can do while seated. It will force me to catch up on my many half-finished projects. Hmmmm. There may be something to this. But is it a sign? No, but it might be a silver lining.

Maybe it’s a sign that I need to live in a neighborhood where there is no drop-off between the sidewalk and the parkway strip. I need a gently-sloped ramp going from the sidewalk to the street. Edges are problematic for people like me. Being that I’ve banged my shoulders and hands into door frames a million times, I think I also need to live in a curved, padded house and maybe a cornerless universe!  

Who can say whether my injury is a sign? I’m just relieved that my ankle isn’t sprained as badly as it was last year. It isn’t swollen and bruised, like last December. It’s no picnic but I’ll deal. Maybe Santa could let me borrow the sleigh for a few weeks since I can’t walk as well as usual. I would return it by Dec. 24.

I guess my New Year’s resolution could be to pay a tiny bit more attention to uneven surfaces below my feet. 2013 is only a few weeks away. Although some people are superstitious about the number 13, maybe it will be my luckiest year yet. Maybe I’ll be injury-free. I need to go look for signs. Does anyone have the horoscope section?