This morning, finally having some time off, I decided I had better get my laundry done. Thankfully my room is on the same floor as our washer and dryer.

After Mass, I sorted my cloths, made necessary preparations, and loaded the machine. I had plenty of room so I even through in a few towels left from guest rooms.

In the course of getting things washed, dried, folded, and put away, I made a number of trips up and down the long hallway on the lower level of our convent.

One of these proved to be more monumental than I’d bargained for. There was a space heater out in the hallway, left over from bitterly cold nights of recent memory. It had not been put away because we are painfully aware of the fact that winter is far from over.

The little mobile heater had been strategically placed against the wall, out of anyone’s way, so we thought.

The only way I can explain what happened is this: I must have been carrying my laundry basket back to my room and had my vision obstructed by it. Not seeing the space heater, I walked full-force into the durable object and hit my foot in just the right spot!

As the day went on, the foot began to bother me more and more. I iced it intermittently, but that didn’t do a ton to lessen the throbbing that came and went.

When my mom called to say hello at some point in the afternoon, I explained what had happened, that I had kicked a space heater. However, she mistook the words space heater for St. Peter, and asked “Where was St. Peter that you kicked him?” I soon realized the misunderstanding and clarified that I had not, in fact, mistreated any representation of this wonderful apostle. I had accidentally punted a small appliance, not a statue!

By late afternoon, I got our nurse to wrap my foot for me. I had fulfilled the prescribed care for an injury: Rest, Ice, and Elevate, but still lacked the C needed to complete the acronym (RICE). I had not yet applied any Compress[ion].

When I took my stockings off to get my foot wrapped, I could see that my middle toe was very black and blue.

I have to say a prayer of thanks that this incident happened today rather than earlier in the week, since I didn’t have any aide duties to worry about. (I had been filling in a fair amount earlier in the week.)

I guess maybe St. Peter was looking out for me. 🙂

Note to Readers: Kindly retrain yourselves from ordering me to seek immediate medical attention. Ibuprofen does wonders and I will be re-evaluating the situation in the morning.