Staying married
Several years ago I was on the roof, doing whatever people do on roofs, and noticed the rain gutters were full of leaves and muck. So I decided to clean them out. Natalie was down below working on her own project, but because apparently it was too hard for me to go back down the ladder to get the garbage can myself, I asked her if she could wheel it over from the side of the house and position it below me - providing a place for me to throw the mess I was about to pull from the gutter. She stopped what she was doing and walked down the steps headed toward the side of the house. In the process she misjudged her footing and went to the ground in pain. With a voice filled with concern and compassion I said something like “yeah - that looks like it hurts - you still able to grab the can?” She hobbled over and retrieved the garbage can (although at an annoyingly slow pace.) Later that day Sam took her to the hospital and we found out she had a broken foot. This story provides my friends with never-ending fodder for jokes.
Last week Natalie began to suspect another fracture in her foot - this time it was the likely result of over-training (running). Learning my lesson from the experience above I used more concern and compassion as I said “yeah - that looks like it hurts - you still able to ride around Iceland?” Although there was a little hesitation in her voice, the answer was yes. She’s been hobbling around the house gingerly ever since.
Yesterday her doctor verified the fracture (stress fracture in the third metatarsal) but cleared her for the trip, providing she takes it easy on her foot. That means our 18-mile hike-a-bike pushing a 200-lbs recumbent (bike, gear, trailer) on a gravel road at mile 400 has given way to a much longer ride around that obstacle (probably a net add of 60 miles and a few thousand vertical feet and the elimination of our pioneer handcart trek experience). It also means she gets to ride on the luggage carts in the airport. But beyond that, we’re still on for the trip and we’re still married.
We leave for Iceland in 4 days.