Just now, walking up the stairs, I placed my foot a little too close to the edge of the step, slipped backwards out of my slipper and flailed about spectacularly until I finally saved myself by slamming my elbow against the railing and regaining my balance. I’ll have a lovely bruise tomorrow. I wouldn’t really call myself clumsy… I think that I am actually a fairly graceful person when I want to be, but the problem is I just never pay attention. In fact, my mind is usually so far away from whatever it is my body is doing that I never remember getting injured in the first place. Bruises seem to appear out of nowhere, and I can only guess where they came from by their placement on my body. My hips always have a fresh bruise or two from not paying attention when I walk around the counter in my kitchen. My shins get bruised from the car door, the coffee table, or the edge of the bathtub. When Zibbit was a baby, I was convinced I had contracted some sort of fatal blood disease because of the dozens of pinpoint bruises that had suddenly cropped up on the sides of both of my knees. It was only after a week’s worth of panicking and a completely pointless trip to the doctor that I caught myself bumping her infant carrier against my legs as I walked.

I’m not a huge resolution maker, but my goal for this year is going to be paying more attention to my body’s needs. Mental rest, good sleep, and consistent breaks from the daily drudgery are specific needs that I’m going to try to focus on more. Perhaps I could also be benefited from a little more attention to where my body is in relation to hard objects. This bruise on my calf? No idea where it came from. SPC Resolution number one: pay attention and watch out!

This month’s theme is resolutions. See them here.