i'll learn by going

When I was a kid we spent a year living on an island off the coast of eastern Canada. On that island there is a tree. One day I grabbed hold of a loose branch that was located somewhere near the top of this tree. Down I went, face first through the air. I landed directly on my head, on a teeter-totter.

Then I was in the hospital, wearing a neck brace. I spent at least one night and I had the worst dreams. I dreamt in slow motion. There was a television on the wall with no speakers. My mum made a speaker with a styrofoam cup and some earbuds so we could watch The Price is Right.

Now, as an adult, talking to mum about childhood injuries:

“You ran full speed into the corner of a cast iron stove. Caught yourself right in the forehead, scared me half to death.”

“Remember when I fell out of the tree and landed on my head on the teeter totter?”

“You what?!”

“Mom, I spent the night in the hospital.”

“You spent the night in the hospital because we thought you had Meningitis.”