How I broke my leg

Okay. Here's the story on how I fell.... I was weeding in the garden and I had collected a bunch of grass that I wanted to give to Esther. I had a big pile of grass in one hand and a big stick in the other so I could get over the electric fence. (If you push down on the electric fence with something not made of metal, you can step over it without getting shocked.) I landed wrong on my left foot and felt like I had twisted my ankle when I stepped over the fence. Then I panicked because my other leg was still on the other side of the fence. I don't really remember what happened after that except that I could hear bones cracking, and I am pretty sure I got a pretty good shock. I just laid there for what felt like an eternity feeling kind of dazed and in an extreme amount of pain. I think I might have been in shock. All I really remember was just calling out to Jesus and praying in the spirit.

Meanwhile, Esther is just looking at me. I genuinely think she was concerned. I managed to crawl over to her shelter and stand up. Then I started to cry for help. Esther and Annabelle chimed in and mooed, but no one inside could hear us. They all thought I was working in the garden. Then I got down on my hands and knees and started crawling towards the gate. This seemed to freak out Esther who started backing up and then ran to the other side of the pen. Then she started slowly walking towards me. I started praying again that God would help me get out of that pen before she decided to run towards me. I managed to crawl out of the pen and get almost to the house when John finally saw me and came outside to help.

Well, now you know the embarrassing story of how I broke my leg. Actually, I broke the very back part of my ankle and the top of my tibia. I am now in a cast from my toes to ¾ of my lower leg. The last few days have been a difficult adjustment for my family. I am used to being busy from the time I get up until after dinner. It has been really hard for me to sit back and let other people do things for me. That has never been something I am comfortable with. I am a very independent person and a control freak. I do not like to sit around and do nothing all day. Now I can't even get myself a glass of water.

Up until now the kids have had chores that they were responsible for, but not nearly as many as they should have. Most of the time if I tell the kids to do something and they don't do it, I just end up doing it myself. Now I guess God is just teaching us all a big fat lesson. I am learning to ask for help and make my kids do more. They are (hopefully) learning that they need to help more, and that they have had it made up until now. How is John holding up, you ask?? He has been a trooper. He has taken over the job of cooking dinner, cleaning the kitchen, pasteurizing the milk, doing the shopping and taking care of the garden. The boys are doing the laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming and mopping, and taking care of the cows and the dogs. And yes, until a few days ago, I did most of those tasks myself. The boys helped with the animals and John helped when he could, but he is not here all the time. I am very grateful that he has been able to be home with us this past week. I couldn't have done it without his help. I am still praying that he finds a job soon though. I am sure he would rather be working than playing the role of Mr. Mom.

Why am I writing this? Well, it started out as an easy way to tell everyone at one time who asked me, “How did you break your leg?” But as I was writing, I started to think that maybe someone reading this would recognize themselves in this story. Especially if you are a mom, ask yourself this question...”What would my family do if I broke my leg and I couldn't even get myself a glass of water?” Obviously, this situation could be a lot worse. I am exceedingly grateful that it is just a broken leg. As a fb friend recently said, “I am trying to make lemonade with all these lemons life is throwing at me.” On that note, I am going to get off this computer and go organize the troops to get this house clean and the laundry done. If you are a parent, give your kids an extra chore or two. It won't kill them. It will make them less dependent on you. And if you have two working legs, turn up the music and do a little dance for me!