Don't Slip And Fall

It was late February and sunny, with a temperature about fifteen degrees, as good a day as you could ask for to be outside. "I'm going for my walk," I told Eve, "I'll be back in half an hour."

            "Don't slip and fall," my wife called back.

            She was in the kitchen stirring a pot of chicken noodle soup. It smelled good enough to keep me inside. Almost. I'm a little compulsive on some things and my late morning walk in the winter is one of them. "I'll be careful."

            "It just snowed, you know. You usually fall at least two or three times a year and haven't yet, so you're due. Watch yourself."

            Snowfall had been intermittent this winter, so walking had been fairly easy. I opened the door to a blast of cold air, "I will," I said, stepping outside. "Besides, it's only a dusting," I added, shutting the door quickly before she could caution me again. Hell, I was sixty-five and certainly old enough to know what I was doing.

            Well, sort of. First off, it was more than a dusting, closer to an inch, so I made myself walk cautiously as I started out. Even so, I'd slipped once or twice by the time I'd reached the end of the driveway. At least I hadn't fallen. Man, I really did need to be careful. I turned right and made my way down our quiet street, snow crunching underfoot, glad for my warm jacket, insulated boots, heavy mittens and wool cap. My wife's words echoed like a bad mantra in my head, 'Don't slip and fall. Don't slip and fall.' It was hugely irritating, made even more so by the fact she was right, I usually did slip and fall two or three times a year. So I took it as a challenge. No slipping and falling. Not today.

            Except I did.

            I was rounding the corner at the end of the block, thinking about not slipping, when I stepped on clean patch of snow. Underneath there must have been a smooth sheet of ice because all of a sudden my feet shot out from under me and I fell backwards, completely air born. For a moment I hung suspended in space. I should have used that time to prepare myself to cushion my backside when I hit the ground, but didn't. What I thought, as I reached the top of the arc and began plummeting toward earth, was this: Damn it. She was right again.

            I smacked my head hard on the pavement. I wasn't knocked out but, instead, ended up laying slightly stunned on the snowy street. A neighbor saw the whole thing and called Eve who drove over to get me. Then she hurried me to the clinic to get me checked out before taking me home.

            She got me situated on the couch with a steaming bowl of her chicken noodle soup before sitting next to me. "I'm glad the doctor told us you're going to be all right, Rick." She said, gently touching my head. "But, I worry about you so much. I understand that you like your winter walks, I just don't want you to hurt yourself." She paused, then added, "I just wish you'd be more careful and maybe stay inside when the weather's bad." She gave me a quick, wifely kiss on the forehead. It felt wonderful.

            I savored the soup thinking that of course her words made sense. We'd been married for forty-two years, and one thing I knew for a certainty was that everything my wife did or said made sense. I should have known that fact by now but apparently was too mule-headed to accept it.

            I'm sure there was resignation all over my voice when I said, "Yeah, I know what you're saying, Eve. I'll think about it." I finished my soup, then closed my eyes, suddenly very tired. I knew what she was saying, but, still, it didn't change the fact that some habits were hard to change. My winter walk, apparently, was one of them.

            Eve took the empty bowl and stood up. She patted my arm affectionately and said, "You do that. In the meantime, I'll go wash this out. You rest. We'll have some more later for dinner. Okay?" She went into the kitchen after tucking a thick quilt around my legs to keep me warm.

            I awoke an hour later and looked out the window. Snow was falling steadily and the afternoon light was fading from the sky. I watched the flurries swirl as the wind picked up. My guess was that the temperature was getting colder and I wondered if maybe I should skip my walk tomorrow. Like Eve had said, I usually fell two or three times a year. Today's fall was my first and simple math told me that I was due for one or two more. Next time could I get seriously hurt. Tomorrow I should stay inside, take it easy and baby that bump on my head. A wise man would do that, right? Well, no one ever accused me of being wise. Just ask Eve.

            I watched the snow some more and the more I did the more enticing it looked. The cold air would be invigorating and it'd be nice to be outside in it. Besides, I had to make up for missing most of my walk today. Sounded good to me. Decision made. I'd go for my walk. But there was one thing for sure; tomorrow when I was out walking, I really would be careful. For most people, it was just a little thing, but for me it wasn't. After all these years, with Eve being right all those times, all I wanted was to prove to her that I could do it. Tomorrow I'd make sure to not slip and fall.

            Just like I'd tried to do today.