I went DOWN this evening.
We are building a shed in our backyard. Its been sitting at the back end of the driveway since May. I just haven't had the time or the weather. I had planned for next weekend, but the weather this weekend was gorgeous! Well, the walls are up, gable ends in, and roof supports done. My goal was to start the roof before ending for the night. Mission accomplished. I was able to place one roof panel where it belongs, and tighten it down. My wife told me dinner was ready, time to relax before an early bedtime. Long day at work tomorrow.
We cleaned up the trash laying around. Threw away a 10' tape measure that didn't want to recoil. Picked up the cardboard from the packing material. Put away all the screws and miscellaneous parts that come with diy shed builds. Tools in the toolbox. The stepladder was still in the shed. My wife was in the shed picking up the last of the parts. I collapsed the stepladder, picked it up, and headed out.
I had stacked a few pavers on the ground in front of the door to work as a step until I can make something more permanent. I'm not sure what went wrong. I tilted the stepladder down and forward, ducked under the front door opening, and stepped out on the pavers. Something didn't work right. Either the ladder hit something, or a paver slipped, or my foot slipped, but I pitched forward. As I fell forward, something weird happened, something I just didn't expect, didn't anticipate... Time slowed down.
Well, it felt like it slowed down. I saw the ground rushing to meet me. My brain wanted to figure out what went wrong, but muscle memory took over. The ladder was pushed aside, I picked a side of my body, tucked my shoulder under, and went for my best tuck roll. If there hadn't been an old fence post with a round concrete base laying on its side directly beneath me, the tuck roll would have been el perfecto! A 10 from the Olympic judges. I would have stood strong, arched my back and victoriously thrown my hands in the air. A perfect dismount! Instead, my thigh hit the concrete post base and threw me off a bit. I still accomplished the tuck roll, and stood victorious, albeit without a hint of grace.
My wife stared in disbelief. "Are you ok?" I could only exclaim how awesome it was! You have to understand where it all came from. When I fall riding a unicycle, I try my best to run it out and not go down. Sometimes, you just go down. In that moment, a tuck roll is my best friend. Its something I have practiced numerous times while riding. Not intentionally. I never intentionally fall. But I do fall. I have practiced falling quite a bit.
Tripping out of the shed and going down, I knew what to do. Let me be clear: it wasn't instinct, it was practice. I even considered the soft grass, and knew the landing wouldn't hurt as much as an asphalt street. All of those thoughts occurring in a split second. I'm not gonna lie, I feel a little giddy. I didn't mean to trip out of the shed. But my training took over, even if it isn't the goal of riding a unicycle. The goal is to not fall down. But I do. Experiencing that thought/reaction process was really, really cool. Having my unicycle riding experience benefit me in ways I haven't intended is a blessing. I didn't get hurt, except I may have a bruise on my thigh where it hit the concrete and ruined my perfect score.
I could trip tomorrow and really get hurt. That would be life, and through the pain, I would have to laugh at the irony. But I didn't get hurt today, and its all because the unintended consequences of riding a unicycle worked in my favor. Practice being young, and it will help keep you from aging too quickly. Grace is optional.
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