It's the little things

Each morning when I wake up, I get out of bed, put my feet on the floor and I flinch as I physically remember that my right ankle is healing from a break three weeks ago.  Left on its own, my ankle does not hurt anymore so it's easy to forget.  When I put weight on it, however, it does hurt, and I limp on the ball of my foot to the chair where I sit and put on a contraption called an AirCast.  Although robotic looking and not at all attractive footwear, its interior air chambers have been tremendously helpful, allowing me to walk without crutches but with support to my broken bone, and giving me confidence that my ankle won't roll.

Yesterday when I got out of bed, for the first time in three weeks, I could stand on both feet, my right foot flat on the ground, without pain.  I was elated.  Painlessly, I walked to the chair and strapped on the boot.

This morning, when I got out of bed, I walked across the room without pain and in my normal gate.  Then I stopped and realized how wonderful it felt to be walking, to be able to walk.

It's a simple thing, isn't it?  Walking is something I take for granted every single day.  I have legs that work and I am able to get myself from here to there on my own two feet. I can take a stroll in the morning with my dog, I can walk through the grocery store, I can climb stairs or walk from the couch to the kitchen for a fresh cup of coffee. Such freedom I have. Not everyone can say that, and this morning I realized how much it means to me that I can walk, how very much I appreciate that I have that ability. When I look around this life of mine, I realize this morning that there is so much, so very much that I am thankful for.  It took an accident for me to have this realization, proving to me once again that many gifts are not initially obvious.