Hi. Hello. Howdy.

I'm writing my very first blog post from my couch, watching an epic snowstorm fall outside. With an air walker boot strapped to my right foot.

Because one day ago I couldn't put so much as a pinky toe down without crying in pain (read: I crawled to the bathroom on multiple occasions). It's worth noting that I don't 'cry in pain.' I had both of my children sans pain medication and no tears were shed. But the funny part (ironic not haha) of this story is that I have no idea how I hurt it. It had been bothering me the day before, sore even, but nothing I didn't mildly complain about/work through. I went to bed and woke up at midnight moaning in excruciating pain. I couldn't touch it, let alone lay a blanket over it. And I sure as hell could put zero amounts of pressure on it. I slept for maybe one hour, counting down the hours before the orthopedic urgent care opened.

Long story short, they told me that it was most likely a small stress fracture and their guess was as good as mine as to why it happened. Super. So here I am, hobbling around and trying to stay off of it. Have you ever tried to make dinner with crutches? Or do laundry? Or do basically anything? Here's me recommending that you avoid it. But I will tell you what I've learned from this experience:

1. I 100% take being able to walk for granted. Jumping out of bed, taking a shower, driving. It's a giant punch in the throat when one day you can't. It's humbling actually. I am so grateful for my (normally) strong and healthy body.

2. Sometimes you NEED to ask for help. I had to force myself to let my husband help me: carry me to the couch, drive me to the doctor. It honestly felt so foreign to me to rely so heavily on someone else. I also felt incredibly thankful that I had him.

3. The Universe may find ways to make you slow down. Like taking away your ability to walk and making you sit on the couch. You don't get an award for doing all the things. Allow yourself some space (and grace) to take a break.

4. I've caught myself multiple times trying to say "it figures this would happen to me" or "of course this would happen right before my virtual yoga retreat." But I caught myself because why would I think that? Why would I assume that it was normal for something bad to happen to me without explanation or before something that I was really excited about? The only thing that's doing is training me to expect bad things to happen and/or manifesting them into existence. Why isn't it "everything always works in my favor" or "I am worthy of good things?" The more we can change the narrative of how we speak to ourselves, the more positivity we'll see.