Lemonade from Lemons

Last night I had an accident. I was playing basketball with Nathan. I was barefoot. I lost control of the ball, and it rolled out in the street. I chased the ball and caught up with it. I thought I would simply stop the ball with my foot and kick it back to Nathan who was standing in the driveway. Hindsight is definitely 20/20, and this was NOT a very smart move.

When I tried to kick the ball, I tripped and fell face-first into the street. Fortunately for me, I was able to catch myself with my hands and my knee. I busted my knee open, and my hands are scratched up quite a bit. I then proceeded to roll (felt more like a bounce) onto my side. I have got quite a few bruises, cuts and scrapes, and my ENTIRE body aches.

That's the lemon. Can you see the lemonade?

Think about where I was a year ago. I would not have been able to play basketball with my son, let alone CHASE a ball into the street. And if I had fallen with all that extra weight, I probably would have seriously hurt myself. Fortunately, I'm just sore and a little embarrassed.

As I was falling, all I could think about was "Oh, no! Please don't let me tear my new jeans!!!" I'm falling (flipping) across the middle of the street at 9:30 in the evening. I'm wearing a $300 pair of glasses and have a relatively new Blackberry in my pocket – not cheap stuff to replace. And I'm thinking about my new pair of jeans – ones that only cost $4. FOUR DOLLARS!!!

Sounds crazy, I know. The jeans hold a tremendous amount of sentimental value. That pair of 4-day-old jeans represents an unexpected success, a surprise in the "goals achieved" department.

My mom was visiting this week, and (of course) we went shopping. This woman could smell a good buy from the department store parking lot! She picks up this really cute pair of jeans (cost $4) and suggests (tells) me to go try them on. The problem is that they are a size smaller than I was currently wearing. She then went on to pick up TWO MORE pair of pants of the same size! Her thought was if they were just a bit small that I would eventually be able to wear them. And for only a $4 risk, why not make the purchase?

Now for the moment of truth… I pull the jeans up over my knees and then up over my thighs – the point at which I would know the pants were two small. But I was able to continue pulling the pants up. Over the hips and up to the waist. WAIT! I can still breathe! These pants FIT!!!!

Thinking it was a fluke, I quickly tried on the other two pants. They, too, FIT! Yay me! There are not words to express my jubilation. An unexpected success. An incredible feeling of pride and joy! I'm winning!

So, back to the middle of the street, my bloody knee, and the trophy jeans that should have been shredded. Time stopped as I glanced at my knee to see just how badly my pants tore. They withstood the fall! It was at that point that I realized just how lucky I was. Not only did my jeans hold up, but my healthier body held up as well.

Not only am I getting smaller; I'm growing stronger.