It's Just a Bruise...

Almost three weeks ago, on a Friday night, I had a wee bit of a Jax sized accident at CrossFit. As my friends remind me, I’m an all-in kind of girl.  In the fourth round of Box Jumps, I somehow managed to miss the box and sent myself sailing head first into the concrete pillar two feet in front of me. Least to say I was in shock, it happened so fast. It was the kind of moment you wish you could pretend never happened and no one noticed. But it did… I had a goose egg the size of a golfball on my forehead, and worst, a photoshoot the next day for my book cover.

Oddly, life went on. Although the fleeting thought of “I can’t go back there, I’m so embarrassed…” crossed my mind. Monday came, and craving the workout, Black Eye in full throttle, I went back. I felt uneasy walking in. I’m not one for the additional attention and in this situation, it was embarrassing. But slowly, one by one, the incredible members of my CrossFit community not only asked what happened and if I was ok, but shared their own stories of “box jump” pain and fears. Even better, I got more high fives for showing up again and getting right back at it. I couldn’t help but smile. What if I had surrendered to the idea of not showing my face until it healed…

So, I carried on. The photoshoot went on without a hitch. My brilliant friend and photography (www.marcialeeder.com), yes she deserves a plug LOL captured a beautiful and heartfelt cover or my book. The blackeye had no bearing. Even my head shots turned out :). Just the night before, everyone had been suggesting we rebook the shoot. The funny thing about life is, it goes on…

With the exception of the times I looked in the mirror, I mostly forgot about my black eye, until I would run into someone who was in utter shock at the sight. I couldn’t help but smile, the reality was it made them more uncomfortable than me. There was no more pain, but there was a great story. I met a friend for coffee, who’s first comment was “most women would have said they weren’t available to see me, good for you!” A girlfriend and I went for some retail therapy, the one poor girl who asked got the shock of a lifetime when my friend jokingly responded on my behalf “Her boyfriend punched her in the face”. We all burst into giggles knowing someone had just beaten up the elephant in the room. 

Oddly, I learned a lot of lessons about myself and life these past few weeks. Firstly, it’s just a bruise… the only thing stopping me from carrying on would be my ego, physically I was fine.  There was much life to be lived, and every reason I had not to keep on was in my head.  Also, we have no way of controlling others responses or reactions, but if we go looking for the negative, we might actually draw it. The responses I got made me realize I was tough enough, and we all trip once in a while. We all have accidents and heartaches. The choice to keep on living is completely ours. I’m glad I didn’t sacrifice three weeks of awesome workouts, and even stronger relationships to my CrossFit community over a bruise…

It’s just a bruise…