30 Awesome Things About Breaking My Foot

So, I broke my foot at Melissa’s wedding in D.C. That picture up there is her awesome father icing my foot during the reception. While dancing to the world’s most amazing wedding band, The Dickens, I decided to run back to my table to set my camera down and in doing so, I tripped and fell. My giant, awesome high heels made the whole thing super awkward and as a result, my left foot took on the weight of my entire body. BOOM. Fifth metatarsal broken and ankle sprained. BOOM.

Of course I went into denial mode, and danced on it anyway (not well, you can ask anyone there). Karen and Natalie were great sports about the whole thing and even went out and got us all food at 2 a.m. while I iced my foot in the hotel room. When I woke up the next morning I knew it was bad but thought it was maybe a really terrible sprain. Karen and I flew back to Buffalo in the afternoon, and after walking from our gate to the car, I was ready to punch someone. It hurt, a lot. Sean and I went to urgent care, they told me it was broken, and I got really sad.

It was really easy for me to create a list of 10 or 30 or 100 things I couldn’t do because I broke my foot. All my fall plans, ruined. All the fall plans I hadn’t yet thought of but probably would have enjoyed, ruined. I don’t like to wallow though so I decided to challenge myself with the creation of a list of 30 Awesome Things About Breaking My Foot. It took me almost a week to complete it because it was hard. A lot of the time I didn’t believe anything was awesome about it.

Yesterday I was stuck on #22, and came home from work to find a care package from my friend Kim. In addition to all the awesome, sparkly things inside of the care package, she made me a list of 14 things I can do with a broken foot! Perfect timing. So, the last eight or so items on my list are directly influenced by her. Thanks, Kim, you saved the day.

Without further delay, my list:

1. I will probably finish the next book on my book club’s reading list on time.
2. Plenty of time to plan my garden for next summer while this year’s version is fresh in my mind.
3. People offer to do things for me, like grocery shop or bring me food, and it makes me feel loved.
4. I will catch up on all those articles I’ve been meaning to read.
5. I can catch up on my finances and budgeting. Ok, that is not really awesome or fun at all. I am changing this to say that I can scan a lot of old photos from albums, which I’ve been meaning to do forever.
6. Maybe I can start a new feature on my blog, one that’s been floating around my head for awhile and is called “Interviews with Awesome People I Know.”
7. No one can mess with me because crutches can very easily become weapons.
8. Lots of opportunities to knit, cross-stitch and otherwise make things for people and myself.
9. I can do “The Sprain,” like Screech and Lisa. (Thanks, Karen!)
10. I got to work from home in my pajamas for two days. (Thanks again, Karen!)
11. At the doctor’s office I rode around in a wheelchair and pretended I was Jason Street playing wheelchair rugby.
12. Deepening of my relationship with Netflix Watch Instantly.
13. I can host that Lord of the Rings movie marathon I’ve always wanted to have and not feel bad about staying inside so much/long.
14. I can finally write my Life List, which is a list of 100 things I want to do before I bite the dust.
15. Excuse to start Mad Men Season 2 and then finish the rest of them.
16. If the aching in my arms, back, and butt are any indication, I will end my eight weeks on crutches with some awesome new muscles.
17. Lots of time at home to cook and bake. Hello, autumn harvest recipes!
18. New blog discovery: Rob with the Broken Foot. When I feel like whining I can just visit his site and not feel alone!
19. My mom has agreed to come over and help me prepare my garden for winter. Bonus: she’s going to plant some bulbs!
20. I can’t be tempted by the last sunny days of fall so hey, no excuse for not getting my school work done.
21. No recreational shopping for me which means I’m fulfilling a big goal.
22. I can watch the leaves turn colors.
23. Plan my Christmas shopping without actually having to enter a store. Hopefully this means the gifts will be even more thoughtful.
24. No doing the laundry and minimal dish washing for eight weeks. (Sorry, Sean!)
25. Excuse to call my mom and whine until she makes me brownies (This is 100% Kim’s idea, love it).
26. I can probably get all the writing done on my Christmas Recipe zine and actually mail them out on time.
27. A chance to organize my email inbox, something totally and completely tedious but also very appealing to me.
28. Catching up on sleep.
29. New appreciation for my relative good health.
30. Mandatory slowing down, which is great because I’ve been going, going, going.

If can think of anything I’ve left off, I would love to hear your ideas.