Always look on the bright side of life ♫♬🎜

For those of you who aren't familiar with the reference - here you go.  For those of you who are, you can skip ahead (or watch the video for a bit of fun).

September and October have been challenging months. I dived back into the work in progress in October after many distractions filed under the heading of "life gets in the way." In a twist of fate, life has now decided to guarantee I have time to sit still and finish the upcoming book, tentatively titled Horned Owl Hollow. How? So glad you asked.

After a very busy week last week, my sister invited DH and myself to dinner to discuss an upcoming trip for a family wedding. We were happy to go, and after some chatting beforehand, we headed out to the restaurant. It was a busy Friday night, so we gave the host our phone number and went outside to walk around the block while we waited for our table to be ready. It was a pleasant night, with darkness just settling in. Halfway around the block, yours truly stepped off the edge of the sidewalk (because I'm clumsy that way) and did a faceplant on the cement. I never really believed I was going down - certain I'd catch my balance. Too much faith in myself. I got back up with an abrasion on my lip where I hit the ground, dusted off my hands and aside from hurting my pride, considered myself no worse for the wear. Yes, I had some sore spots, but nothing to prevent finishing our walk. We went to the restaurant, ate our dinner, and before we left, the abrasion on my lip had eased so that it was barely noticeable. No harm done, right?

We went on to my sister's home, where we talked more about the trip, and an hour or so later, got up to leave. My sister asked about my injuries, making sure I hadn't knocked any teeth out when my face had connected with terra firma, and I assured her my mouth was fine. My ankle, however, was beginning to throb. We exchanged a few thoughts about a sprain or a break and I determined I was fine, although I did find some swelling around the pain. DH drove us home, and as it was late at night, I wasn't inclined to make a stop at the ER to have it checked. An ER? On a Friday night? LATE at night? No thank you. The ER is never a quick trip in the best of circumstances. I decided to sleep on it, sure my offended body would feel better in the morning.

Nope. The pain increased during the night, and in the morning, I asked DH to drive me to the Urgent Care. Still didn't want to spend all day in the ER, and on a Saturday? Not much better than late night Friday. Good call, as it turned out. I got into the urgent care quickly, they did an x-ray, and... guess what? The PA showed me a fracture at my ankle. Shout out to Emily and Sharon at the Urgent Care - they were fantastic. They checked me thoroughly and treated me well before they sent me home in a boot with instructions to stay off my feet and make a follow-up appointment. 

Bad news, right? Or, if you look on the bright side, as Eric Idle sings, I've just eliminated a bunch of distractions in my path to finishing Horned Owl Hollow. Considering the book is more than halfway complete, 4-6 weeks off my feet should give me more than enough time to finish writing it. 

I'll keep you posted!