There is a lovely saying "When a door slams shut, a window opens..." Pulling a back muscle which dropped me to my knees yowling this morning, riding in an ambulance to the ER, and finding myself surrounded by incredibly caring people, friends and strangers alike, I must agree. There are opportunities at every moment. We are challenged to see the positive in everything. What I learned today is "slowing down" often takes on a different shape than we think.
Thanksgiving was over; the Christmas festivities in my household could begin. My husband dutifully brought out all the holiday decorations we owned and stacked them neatly for the children to tear into. We said our goodbyes as he whisked away to work. It was only 8 a.m., and my children had already completed their first craft project.
It was to be a day of celebration, simply for the joy of celebrating. My children wanted friends to come over -- I was undecided. Having worked most of the weekend, I really wanted to enjoy them alone. As we sang Christmas carols and pulled out the manger from its tight box, I relived the sensation of labor pains -- only this time the muscle tightening came from my back, not my uterus. In a flash, my day stood on its head and waved to me.
"Hi, Christine," my day grinned. Having summoned my best friend, who, as best friends are apt to do, dropped everything and ran to my rescue, I was sitting on my exercise ball doing labor-breathing exercises and waiting for the ambulance which took a full forty minutes to arrive.
"What is this?" I scowled between clenched teeth, wiping away random tears and getting more and more furious as time went on.
"You thought you could spend me any way you want, eh?" my day continued, forcing a laugh from the hollow of its throat.
I glared at it, unable to retort.
"Not so fast, lady," it said. "We're doing this on my terms." For effect, I could feel my back muscles twist around themselves a further time. I yelped like a ten week old puppy missing its mother.
My children followed behind the ambulance. Luckily, my children thought the ambulance was cool. The chair they lifted me into was even more interesting, and my son especially liked the red swirling lights. A doctor met the ambulance en route, giving me a pain reliever via an IV. It was all so embarrassing and infruriating. As I entered the ER room via the nifty chair-like vehicle, I could hear my day whispering behind me.
"Enjoy your stay. It won't be long. Ten minutes, max. And don't forget to make your co-payment on the way out." I heard one last giggle and a popping sound. My day had moved into another dimension.
In fact, ten minutes and a few pain reliever shots later, I was following my overjoyed children, who found the coloring station in the waiting area to be a great treat, to the door. A taxi would take me home as my best friend's car was filled with four kids and a lot of spilled snacks.
"Ms. Hohlbaum," I heard a voice behind me. I wheeled around, fully expecting my day to be standing there, tapping its foot for another round of teasing.
"Yes," I hissed.
"You forgot to pay the bill." The one-armed assistant reached up for the 10€. In that moment, I was clear. Accepting people's help really is O.K. We all need a helping hand, sometimes more than others, sometimes less. I smiled as the first sliding door closed and the other one opened. When a door swishes shut...




