Before a Fall

Have you ever noticed how people will deny they are superstitious just before a “but”? 

Yesterday morning I woke up and bustled about the house and after an hour of bustling I stopped to realize that my leg, that infamous limb of three months of agony, was not paining me.  I went excitedly to my mother and said “Mom, I hardly dare say anything to jinx it but I think my leg is cured.”  Then I continued bustling about and one hour later came crashing down on said limb from a misstep on a new ladder.  Oh the searing agony, the writhing on the bed, the frightful thought that the sound I heard as I crashed “did I break something?” and I continued lying in the bed and calling for mother.

Yes, disaster struck me and a day later despite resting in bed and ice and heat packs galore I can only hobble around on one leg.  Did I jinx myself?  How can a person who generally is so cautious on ladders make such a mistake as to step down from the second from last rung with such velocity as to acerbate the exact same leg that has been compromised for 3 months?  I realize that this experience is not unique to me but I cannot help asking the question – did I jinx myself by making the statement in the first place?  Is there really such a thing as a jinx?

For many people who declare they are atheist or agnostic I wonder if the same is true of them as the non-superstitious person.  They don’t believe in God, but . . .   Capricious perhaps in their belief, as though they could easily become a Believer if He stood among them? 

In any event, I lie in bed with hot bean bags around leg and back and have my Mamma running back and forth with water, coffee, homemade bread, cake and apple sauce.  What would I do without my mother?

My cup runneth over!