The Little Things

     Every little thing I do is NOT magic. Nope. One simple hop over a fallen skater in a scrimmage and >bam<. Life just got unbelievably difficult. Three broken bones in my leg and ankle = two plates, twenty-five screws and forty staples. The depression and pain was overwhelming. I wanted to give up completely at first. I'm in my third week now after the surgery and I finally feel a little better. Especially my mental state. I am using a walker and am not allowed to bear any weight. The pain has significantly lessened. But why is every little thing such a bitch to do?!!! Luckily....I really haven't had to do that much.
     I am a single mom, which means I am not just having a terrible time looking after myself, but my kids too. My three year old is being a unholy terror while my 5 year old "helper" keeps getting virus after virus! My sanity has been teetering on the brink of destruction these past few weeks. If it wasn't for the help of all the sweet, selfless, generous, and all-around-amazing women in my derby league, I would have lost myself in a sea of depression. These ladies have been my salvation and there aren't enough "Thank You" cards in the world to cover the depth of my gratitude for just having them all in my life.
     There hasn't been a night that I have had to even think about cooking dinner for my kids. In three weeks! It has been something that my league-mates have taken upon themselves to cover. They come over, one at a time or in pairs and  they just help. It has brought me to tears on so many secret occasions that I have lost count. They come in, ask me what I need, run errands for me, play with my kids, make us dinner, give the kids baths, read them books, help my daughter with homework, put them to bed, tidy my house, do laundry and dishes! These people come over and just do these things out of love. I have never experienced anything like this.
      This is a time of year people start reflecting on what they are thankful for, start pushing the notion of giving to others, look for charities to contribute to and the like. The women in my league have made such a tremendous impact on my life in the last few weeks. They embody every notion of what the holiday spirit is supposed to be. They aren't doing this because I am some charity case. They hearken to mind a quote I had memorized while in Typography class that we had used in an assignment. "Great is the person who sees the need, recognizes the responsibility and actively becomes the answer." I don't know all of these ladies as well as I would like, but I love them all the same. They are great people with great hearts that have greatly helped me in ways they will probably never fathom.