December 9 – “The Fall”

When does Fall start in Galveston, anyway?  We used to live in Colorado, and by August it was getting cold at night, and it even sometimes snowed.  In Galveston it sometimes get cold in December, snows every fifteen years, and the leaves on the palm trees never change color until they turn brown and die.   Speaking of fall, today was the day for it.  Chris went to WalMart this afternoon to get some groceries.  I had to finish up some paperwork, balance the checkbook, and put together a Visual Verse for Sunday.  As it turned out, the checkbook balanced on the first try.  The paperwork is almost done and the visual verse was a stumper at youth group tonight.  So not too long after Chris left I went into the garage to work on her Christmas carving.    I guess I got pretty focused in.  I don't know how long I was sitting there on my stool with my dremel in one hand and the piece of wood in the other.  Dust was flying, and the machine was whining.  I should have taken off my hearing aids.  I decided to change out the tip attachment, so I slid off the stool and turned around.  And totally lost my balance and fell backward.  As I fell, the realization hit … this already hurts and it's about to get worse.  My back was screaming, both elbows were barking, and my knees just gave up the ghost.  For the first time since we moved in I was glad that we still have a little sofa still stored in the garage along with the ladder and a multitude of boxes.  I never went all the way to the ground.  My arm hit the ladder and my back slammed against the couch and some boxes.  My balance returned fairly quickly, but I was right.  It did hurt.  It took me a long time to tell Chris.  She's been sick, so I didn't want her to worry about me, too.  I couldn't read her response when I fessed up.  And I sure don't know where that came from.  Fall.   The other fall hasn't happened yet.  But it's coming.  We noticed when we left for church tonight.  The row of Christmas icicle lights on the front of the house is on its way down.  Right now a rose bush is the only thing holding it up on one end.  That'll be on my list tomorrow.  If I can stay on the ladder.  But don't tell Chris I said that.   Psalms 100:1-3 says, "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.  3 Know that the Lord is God.  It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture."   Father, thanks for that garage full of junk that was in the right place at the right time to keep me on my feet.  Amen.