~and I mean it~

Greetings dear friends and family from the plains of northern Texas.  It's the early morning hours here and save for me and Crosby the cat, everyone is sound asleep.  Even the jets that race across the sky from the nearby Air Force base are still sitting on the runway.  The sun shall rise soon so it won't be long until this entire area becomes awake and active.  Welcome to this day!

Mike and I have learned rather quickly here in Texas that one thing is for sure, no matter what time zone you might find yourself residing in.  Time flies when you are living your life.

The calendar on the refrigerator announces the arrival of June 26th this day.  We have been here in Burkburnett for exactly one month now.  Believe me when I say that a whole lot has happened to us since we came here.  99.5% of it has been wonderful and that little tiny .5%, well we survived it in spite of everything.  We have settled comfortably in and are learning the ropes of living in this land called "Texhoma".  

It seems so strange to think that nearly 4 years have already passed by since the day of my accident on August 4, 2011.  There really isn't a day that goes by that I'm not reminded of it in some small way or another.  The "Frankenstein" like scar that runs up and down the inside of dear "old lefty" is always a constant reminder of it and since my arms are now tanned with the exposure to the summertime sun, it is even more of a reminder.  My arm's appearance is different now and I seem to notice the misshapen look more than anyone else does.  My left hand is perpetually numb but over the passage of time I have gotten used to it being that way.  When the good Dr. Chan told me that I would never have a normal wrist and hand again, he meant it.  "Old lefty" has its own new way of normal.  That I even have a usable left hand and wrist again is a miracle to me and one that I am most thankful for.

Back in the days that followed that unfortunate early morning bicycle ride, I steadfastly maintained that going through the ordeal of having a broken arm for literally 9 months was the very best thing that could have happened to me.  Today in the summer of 2015, my feelings about it all have not changed one bit.  I say it again today and I will probably say it in my final days as well.

"Jumping that curb on my bike, landing smack down on my left side on the lawn, scooping my hand up off of the ground so I could be taken to the hospital ER, enduring 3 different surgeries and wearing a beautiful long arm cast for 9 months, was the very best thing that could have happened to me."  (and I mean it)

Now mind you, I would not want to go through that all again.  I had my share of fun with it but the lessons I learned about life and more importantly about myself, were invaluable.  After going through all of that, I found out that I could do anything that I wanted to.  Anything.  

So much has happened to me in the days, weeks, months, and now years that have passed by.  My life continued to change.  Since then I have gotten married and moved away from my home in Kansas.  I don't ride a bike these days but who knows?  Maybe I will start again sometime here on plains of Texas.  If I do start riding there will be one thing I can guarantee you.

I won't be jumping any curbs ever again.
And I mean it.

The flowers I left along the roadway in Missouri to remember a man named "Darryl" whose death provided the gift of a bone segment to repair my shattered left wrist.  He died of a heart attack at the very young age of 45 but even in his passing Darryl left gifts for others who needed them badly.  I was one of those blessed people.  

Don't think I could do that one again if I tried!  
Not planning to either.
And I mean it.