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Face Plant

Where have I been? Here, there and everywhere! We have had a great time of celebrating Christmas and New Years literally across the country. Christmas Day included brunch in Little Rock, dinner in the Memphis airport and a late night slice of Christmas Pie in Minnesota. We’ve so enjoyed visiting with family and friends. Tonight for New Years some of my forever friends in Little Rock got together and it was so fun to see our kids playing together much as we might have….all those years ago!

In Minneapolis, we got together with one of Bill’s (and now my) forever friends. Bill played basketball with Paul Roback in high school and we love, love his wife Karen. We try to get together whenever possible at their house for a tradition we call “Camp Roback”. We visit, the kids play…and we eat…a lot! A dessert called “Charlie Brown Pie” is Bill’s favorite!

This year our Camp Roback experience added a new element….extreme snow sports. Or rather…extreme ice sports. It had been warm during the week and the snow hill we were going to had turned to ice. When we got there we heard “it’s REALLY fast, but fun..” The hill looked pretty daunting to me (you didn’t even need a sled it was so fast) but Paul convinced me I should take “just one” run. Something about it being “fun.”

I sat down on the mat where I intended to survey the hill and see what I thought of the situation, but before I had time to do that, I started down the hill at a very high rate of speed. What was worse was that I fell over so I couldn’t see where I was going. That probably was a good thing as I had no idea I was headed straight for the only jump on the entire hill. People said it was like slow motion….they kept thinking “surely she won’t hit the jump”, but hit it I did. Hard.

I don’t know all the details…people say they can’t exactly remember or describe it…but what I do know is that I hit the jump square on the top of my back, was airborne and then somehow flipped and did a face plant in a mound of ice. I really thought I had to have broken my back, but soon raised my neck and saw blood dripping from my face. That’s all it took to get me up out of the ice and headed for the car.

To make matters worse, everyone who looked at my face went “eww” or “does it hurt?” When I finally got to take a look in the mirror I was one scary sight.

The next day my back was sore, my face was scabbing and a big bump showed up on my forehead.

The way I look at it, everyone comes home from camp with some stories, so Camp Roback really should be no different. But just so you know, next year I am signing up for a different activity.

Preferably something indoors!


Comments: #



Deanne - Jan 5, 2009

You were brave to try it! Next year, be in charge of hot chocolate - or make those peanut butter and kiss cookies that you like so much for the rest of the “campers”. Just stay off the sled!! And I’m very glad you only received a bump and some cuts. It could have been worse and, rumor has it, the adults are supposed to be the role models……



kathrynsmoore - Jan 5, 2009

Yikes!!



PreK Kitten - Jan 2, 2009

I can’t wait to see it….one week later! I was laughing out loud reading it!