Had a Good Trip?

The Dreamers travelled to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in Cinderella's Coach (more about that later).

A balloon lands just behind the coach

Mr. Dreamy pushed to get us home in time for Dreaming to do laundry, straighten up the house and repack for our trip to San Francisco. Oh, and Mr. Dreamy had some things on his "Honey Do" list, too.

When we pulled into the driveway it was cold and windy. It wasn't a very nice welcome after an almost heavenly week away. While Mr. Dreamy stepped inside the house, to do what we all do when we arrive home after a prolonged drive,  Dreaming decided to get started with the list of tasks associated with arriving at home. 

Not my picture... I found it here

Our car is often towed behind Cinderella's Coach, using a system similar to that pictured above. As you can see, there are bars, and wires and pokey-outy things all over the place. First thing we usually do when we arrive home is to disconnect the car. Step one is to take all of the hooks and pins off of the car, so it can be moved away.

Not my picture... I found it here

On this fateful day, Dreaming had just pulled the last pin, and this time she carefully lowered the bars to the driveway. (She has been known to drop them unexpectedly, and Mr. Dreamy, who often wears his Teva sandals, does not particularly care to have the bar dropped in such close proximity to his toes!) Oh, and yes, by this time Mr. Dreamy was back from the necessary room and was watching the action. The next step is to disconnect the wires and cables from the coach, and then the tow bar contraption can be folded up and tucked away. That is Mr. Dreamy's job.

Not my picture... it was found here

To do this Mr. Dreamy stepped over the bear trap tow bars, but.... he caught his toe on something. Since his other leg was also behind the tow bar assembly, he couldn't very well catch himself and recover, and he went down. Hard. I still get creepy feelings when I think about it. I ran around the car and hunkered down to talk to Mr. Dreamy. He was breathing hard (think woman in labor type of panting). 

I asked if he was "OK". 

He just groaned a bit. 

I asked him to "talk to me."

He continued to pant and groaned a bit. 

I asked, "Do you know who I am?" 

He responded, "No." 

Mr. Dreamy tried to get up, and collapsed back onto the ground.

I told him to stay, ran to get my cell phone and a towel.

I called 9-1-1

Mr. Dreamy took the towel and held it to his face.

He got to his feet, albeit a bit unsteadily,

and by the time I was connected to a paramedic

he asked me who I was calling.

He indicated that he didn't need paramedics.

(Oh, and yea, he said, he didn't need to go to the ER.)

I declined assistance from the paramedics,

put Mr. Dreamy into the car, upon which he was leaning,

and off we went for an adventure in the ER.

This is my picture!

The hospital is exactly 6 miles from our house. As I drove, Mr. Dreamy asked, "What did I do?" I responded that he tripped over the tow bar of the car. He commented, "I don't remember anything." He paused, and then asked, "What did I do?" Our conversation for the entire trip was a replay of that which had gone before. Needless to say, I was a bit concerned.

Three hours later we returned home. The tally of injuries:

• a depressed fracture of the anterior maxillary sinus
• no evidence of brain trauma (but the presence of a brain was noted)
• both wrists strained
• a laceration requiring 7 stitches

It has been a week since Mr. Dreamy's fall. He has been quite a good sport. I played nurse and removed his stitches a few days ago. He will need to follow up on the fracture, and possibly have further studies done of his wrists. 

So, our trip to Albuquerque was good. 

The trip afterwards, not so great!

And Now For the Real Story...

OK.... tripping on a perfectly flat floor and falling on one's face is a really sorry story. So, I worked on ramping it up a bit, so I'd have something better to tell the curious. How does this sound as an answer to how Dreaming ended up with stitches and a black eye:

*

*

*

Dreaming decided it was time to check one more thing off her bucket list. So, she went by the local hang gliding club and signed up for a flight. After intensive instruction she was buckled in and jumped off the cliff. Wheeee! Dreaming was having great fun...

But then,

Dreaming’s harness buckle snapped open and Dreaming began to fall....

But then,

she grabbed the strut and held on as the glider fluttered in circles, down, down, down.... into the forest. 

But then,

Dreaming landed in the top of a tall lodgepole pine and softly ricocheted from a branch on one tree to the branch of another until she was safely deposited on the thick bed of pine straw on the forest floor. 

But then,

she heard the grumbling of a brown bear. Mama Bear lumbered into the clearing, staring menacingly at Dreaming, who happened to be standing between Mama and her cubs. Dreaming didn’t waste a second, but took off running through the brambles and the underbrush, heading down the mountain. She jumped from boulder to boulder. She somersaulted from clearing to clearing. She dodged branches and leaped onto a raft of snarled logs in the raging river at the base of the mountain, leaving Mama Bear behind...

But then,

the raft of logs began to break up. First there were five, then four.... three, two and finally Dreaming was straddling one log plummeting down the raging river, swollen from the recent rains. The log snagged on concrete pylons, the remainder of a dam. Dreaming was contemplating how she might get to the land, a tantalizing 20 feet from where she sat, unscathed, on a log in the midst of the river...

But then,

a helicopter appeared over the trees and dropped a skyhook. Dreaming grabbed the hook and was hoisted into the 'copter and whisked to safety. The helicopter dropped Dreaming off at the end of her driveway. She thanked the rescuers and walked to her house...

But then...

The Curious Incident of....

No. That's not quite right. 

Let me try again.

The Idiotic Incident of...

Oh, yes... I like alliteration,  but, it still isn't quite right.

The Stupid, Dumb, Idiotic, Imbecilic, Moronic, Dopey, Dizzy

Thing That Dreaming Did on Friday

There, that seems to fit the crime!

So, the day began as most days have this week.

It was raining.

I did all my morning things.

I even had my coffee...

so that can't be used as an excuse.

I headed to the Rec Center for Pickleball.

How normal and routine.

I helped set up two nets, 

and walked around the curtain to see if folks

needed help on the other side.

Then....

I was on the floor, pickleball paddle in hand.

I went down

HARD.

You see, the Rec Center has just opened their

facility for pickleball after redoing the floors.

They are shiny and beautiful.

But, our sneakers stick... just a bit.

And, as I walked around the corner

my foot moved forward to take a step, 

but the sole of my sneaker sorta stayed where it was.

Then a scientific principle called

MOMENTUM

took over. 

That is... an object in motion tends to stay in motion

unless acted upon by an equal and opposite force.

Well, since the foot stuck,

the body kept going.

I was holding the paddle in both hands for some reason

and I went down on my knees,

then on my elbows,

and then performed a very ungraceful face plant 

on that new shiny floor.

Uh oh.

I was bleeding.

A wonderful friend went and got some paper towels.

I protected that shiny floor...

not a drop of blood was shed on it. 

Then we inspected the damage.

Uh oh.

It wasn't just a little cut.

It was, in fact, two cuts;

one above and one below my eye.

My eye glasses evidently slammed into my face

and they did a number.

This is me. Just a few hours following the fall,

and after a fairly quick trip to the Doctor's office 

for 6 (or is that 7?) stitches.

(I am so glad I didn't go to the ER....

I might still be there if I had!)

I look a bit more gruesome now as more swelling 

has set in - despite applying cold compresses most of the day.

Mr. Dreamy has posted a disclaimer on Facebook

to let folks know he was 5 miles away from me

when this happened.

Well, I need to come up with a better story...

the truth is just too 

Stupid, Dumb, Idiotic, Imbecilic, Moronic, Dopey, and Dizzy!