Welcome 2018 - Hello Table!

My New Year didn't start out great. Its a bit of a long story but may have some lessons so here it is.

Everything started out fine during that week between Christmas and the New Year Holiday. There was a wonderful visit from my oldest son Nathan, his wife Wendy and my granddaughter Dylan. Busy, busy, busy. Energy oozes out of both Nate and his daughter. Conversation and movement, activity and action, its all the same after awhile and its all good. I've gotten to the point in my life where the only response can really be to sit back and enjoy it and I did. They were only here for a short time but it was a great visit.

While they were here we had to rearrange things for eating playing, etc., so we moved an antique 48" round oak table out from the wall to make room for everyone. As the week progressed, the table stayed where it was until maybe Friday night or Saturday morning long after the kids had gone. We decided the table should be moved back so we lifted it on each side and stood holding it as we heard one of the legs drop to the floor. There we stood, holding a heavy three legged oak table. What to do other than to set it down on its side and work it around to lie on its top with three legs in the air. That's how I was able to assess the damage. A wooden bracket that held the dropped leg in place had split in half from years of rocking and wiggling. I knew the brackets and legs were a bit in need of maintenance since whenever we did lift it to move, I would always have to kick a leg or two to straighten them out.

The table came from my mother and father. I got it from my dad probably 30 years ago. It served my family well. It held a goose one Christmas, many dinners and get togethers. It was loaned to a friend for a Thanksgiving dinner and she even had to have a second leaf made to make things work.

So now, there it sat, upside down on the floor between the two doors leading to the outside deck. I decided to dismantle the other three legs instead of having them sticking up in the air for however long it would take me to figure out where to put the table or how to get it repaired. Oh well, a holiday weekend coming up and no-one would be able to be contacted right away. So the obvious answer was to just leave it where it sat.

Next thing I knew it was New Years Eve. I stayed up later then usual and watched the ball drop, crowds cheer, etc. There was also a Super Moon. One of those rare occasions where the moon either is or looks like it is bigger than normal. From my front room I could see towed the lake side of the house that it was in fact huge and bright. I turned off the TV, shut down the front thermostat and headed to the lakeside of the house. Turned out lights behind me and didn't turn any on in the lake room since the moon was shining so brightly. Here it was about a half hour into the New Year. I decided to go to the deck doors and get a good look at that moon before I went to bed.

As I approached the door to the deck I felt something by my foot but it was too late. The next thing I knew I was falling at a good rate of speed. I felt different parts of my body hit uneven surfaces of wood. First my shin, then my knee. Pain in both areas but the worst was yet to come. Smack - my mouth, specifically my front tooth, followed by my nose hit the tin baseboard cover. I knew I was in trouble. Actually I knew I was in trouble before that. I layed on my belly feeling my tooth, feeling my nose and looking at blood in the moonlight.

After a few minutes I rolled off of the now famous antique table on to my back and laid on the floor like an old beached whale, trying to get up but not able, holding my mouth and nose hoping for the best. No phone, no life alert like the lady on TV, just me laying there trying to figure out what's next. I began yelling for my partner, best friend and soon to be nurse. She had gone to bed early and was behind a closed door in what turned out to be a very sound sleep. I found myself yelling - "I'm hurt, I fell, I can't get up". The only words I knew came from that stupid ad on TV and they got louder and louder. Finally, like an angel of sorts, she appeared in the moonlight, assessing me, the situation and what to do next. After getting me on my hands and knees, we figured out how to get my rear end up in a chair where my wounds were looked over. Ice packs and washcloths were applied and used to clean me up.  We got up, moved around, bent knees and went to a mirror. It was time for bed so that's where I ended up, with ice packs on my leg and lip. I slept thinking of that damn table.

The next morning I seemed to have come through it all ok. My tooth and nose are better than the whack on my shin. Nothing's broken except the table and yesterday we got it up on its side and rolled it into the garage, leaning against one wall.

So 2018 didn't start out so good but its like everything else - its a challenge. You take a fall and you get up with a little, or maybe a lot, of help from your friends or a friend. That's what we do. The down side is that now every time I go to a doctor they're going to ask me if I've had any falls recently? You know, one of the standard questions for elderly folks like me. I'm going to have to tell this whole story and try to explain myself and more importantly, place blame on the table. But now I have to go find the furniture doctor.