One thing that I think most of us have learned by the time we reach “a certain age” is that there are no guarantees in this life.  Thus, we should take nothing for granted, not the big things and not the small things.  Our lives can be turned upside down in an instant.

Over the weekend, I was out-of-town visiting a friend and participating in a bowling fundraiser.  Despite cold, sleet, ice, and snow, it was a great weekend.  This Texan, who saw no winter weather at home this season, did well on the ice.  No slip-sliding away.  I was not as fortunate, however, when it came to bowling.

I put on my borrowed bowling alley shoes, found a ball that fit my hand rather nicely, and joined a couple of people on a lane.  It was my turn.  I hadn’t bowled in ten or fifteen years, but I used to be a decent, maybe even a good bowler.  I had an average in the 170s.  I found my spot on the lane and checked my angle so that I could aim my ball right between the 1 and 3 pins.  And then came the approach.  I took my steps toward the fowl line.  Here I was counting on that slip-sliding that I didn’t want on the ice.  I wanted my foot to slide a bit as the momentum of the hurling ball pulled me forward.  That didn’t happen.  My foot stuck, causing me to abruptly stop.  I ended up putting my hand down to catch my balance.  Not hard or in an awkward way…at least that’s what I thought.  I dealt with my sticky show and then bowled three decent games.

After the bowling event, I headed directly to the airport to head home, not thinking much about my sticky first turn.  That is until I went to lift my bag into the overhead bin on the plane.  At that moment a shooting pain went through my hand.  I managed to stow my bag and get into my seat.  The pain happened again as a twisted my hand reaching for my seatbelt that was wedged between the armrest and my floatation device.  My hand now got my attention.  It was seriously red and seriously swollen.  How weird, I thought.  Nothing hurt, that I noticed, when the offending incident occurred.

I wanted to read on my iPad on the flight home, but I couldn’t hold my iPad so I opted for the e-reader on my phone.  Even my phone was not comfortable to hold.

I still was not overly concerned.  Weber met me at the airport.  Since I hadn’t really had dinner, just a “lite bite” on the plane, we went to Chipotle.  I made a trip to the ladies room before we sat down to eat.  And, I realized that I could not undo to button on my jeans.  That caught my attention.  Something is definitely wrong.  Fortunately, thanks to spandex and having lost a few pounds, I was able to slide my jeans without unbuttoning them.

When I got home, my hand was super swollen.  I realized that I needed to seek help from a medical professional.  No school for me Monday morning.

After x-rays, the doctor said to me, “The good news is that it’s not broken.  The bad news is that it’s not broken.”  Had it been broken I would have had to see an orthopedic surgeon.  Unfortunately, sprains, strains, and tears are more painful and take longer to heal.  So for a week or so, I am in a brace that holds my thumb such that I look like I am practicing my hitchhiker stance.

I try hard not to take things for granted, I really do.  That said, there is something that I have woefully under appreciated.

Having opposable thumbs!

The things one cannot do without a thumb are many:

• Button and unbutton clothing
• Tie your shoes
• Put a rubberband around your ponytail
• Turn pages of a book
• Slice vegetables
• Open a power bar package
• Turn a key
• Peel an orange

And this is the thumb on my non-dominant hand!  I can still write, but typing is kind of weird.  That’s my disclaimer for all of the typos in this post! 🙂

My injured thumb is temporary and a small thing in the big scheme of life, but this experience has shown me how taking a small thing for granted can be at least a noticeable inconvenience.  And if a small thing can have such and impact, what about the big things?

This lesson of life having no guarantees and the fact that we should take nothing for granted has been reinforced this week after the bizarre accident with Southwest Airlines flight #1380 when an engine exploded and pieces of shrapnel not only damaged the plane’s fuselage, but broke out a window causing a passenger to be nearly sucked out of that window at 32,000 feet in the air.  Despite the heroic attempts of other passengers to save her, she lost her life.  In a moment that no one ever imagined would, or maybe even could, happen, a family is now without a wife, a mother, a daughter.  And many have lost a friend.  All on a “normal” Tuesday in April.

I also learned yesterday that a colleague has been diagnosed with cancer.  The diagnosis is new and the specifics of treatment and prognosis aren’t known.  But here again, life was upended in a phone call from a physician.

The earlier in life we learn to take nothing for granted, the more we appreciate every moment of every day, every loved one, every friend, every sunrise, every raindrop, every smile, every hug, every difficuly day, and even our opposable thumbs.