A Fall

Sunday, Dennis begged me to get him out of the house. I really wanted to stay home, relish in my new retired life, and just stare at the plants in the south and west corner of our condo, with the ceiling to floor windows. . But I gave in, as I usually do.

The plan was to drive to Lake Calhoun, one of the 10,000 lakes in our state, and sit on a bench and play the game of Guess. Guess is a fun game that most peepers and eaves droppers do on a daily basis - who is that stranger passing by and what are they talking about and then make up stories.

Then I remembered that my favorite boutique was having a side-walk sale. I mean really, who can pass up 75% off at their favorite store?

That's when Dennis fell. He had wanted to walk a bit, and was looking for dresses for me. He always has liked to pick out clothes for me. But he was standing still, and that is when he is most vulnerable to a fall. His back was to me and mine to his, and he just fell.

Since we were on grass, and my body broke the fall, no permanent harm was done. With the help of a passer-by, we were able to get him back in his chair, with only a few small errors, in short order. But he was shook up and so was I.

Dennis hasn't had a damaging fall in a very long time. He takes many precautions to avoid falls. When he does any walking outside the house he generally wears a helmet. Sometimes he also wears plastic padded hockey pants and hockey elbow pads. He has never had a fall when he gears up and even though the helmet was in the car, we didn't think of putting it on his head.

We did not make it to the lake. We both wanted to go home where it was safe. But, really, we should have just put the helmet on, and he never would have had that fall. I know, woulda, coulda, shoulda, but it was a lesson learned.

From now on, the helmet is a permanent fixture on his big old head. An ounce of prevention is still worth a pound of cure.

Until later,
Ann and Dennis