Grandma Lu Was Feeling Sorry For Herself

 Grandma Lu was fussing and fuming. Things just weren't going the way to suit her. She had fallen and broken her arm. Yes, it was her left arm, but you do use both arms all the time. It had been five weeks and things were better, but not back to normal. She was able to do some simple things. She could get herself ready for the day in the mornings. She could do some dusting and simple housework, but her husband had to do the majority of it and she just didn't like it. She couldn't work, she couldn't drive, and she couldn't write stories any more. She couldn't even put her hat on by herself. Yes, she was feeling a bit sorry for herself. 

Then one day she was looking on her tablet and saw a picture of a little boy that she knew; It was Jackson. "Mercy, look at that. He broke his little arm and he's smiling! Oh my goodness, he is smiling even though it's his birthday. Hmm.."

Grandma Lu got up and went out to the kitchen to see what there was for a snack. It seemed that since she was home all the time she was doing a lot of snacking. "Well, it's okay to snack. I have a broken arm after all," she thought as she went back to her favorite chair and munched away with her favorite chips and soft drink.

Grandma Lu's phone rang and noticed the caller ID was her daughter. "Well, I'll get some sympathy now. She will understand. I'm her mother after all." When she answered it she heard a story that made her sad. Her grandson had fallen off his mountain bike and perhaps had broken his elbow. He had to wear a sling too. It was not good news. Her daughter said, "Mom, look at your pictures. I sent you one." So of course, she did. There was a picture alright, but her grandson was smiling. Not just a smile but a big smile even though he was wearing a sling. Her daughter was going to take him to the doctor to make sure it was indeed broken. 

The next day she heard a little bell ringing on her tablet. There in her pictures folder was her dear grandson in a blue cast. He was still smiling.

While she was looking at her grandson's picture another one popped up. It was Joshua. He had decided to jump on his mama's bed for some fun and cut his head. He had to go to the hospital to have five staples, but he was smiling too!

"Well land sakes, am I the only one that's not smiling? Well, we will just see who's smiling around here. After all I am older than those boys. I should be setting a good example for them, but it looks like they are setting a good example for me."

As Grandma Lu sat in her rocking chair she thought, "I wonder if I can make a new recipe that I saw on the computer. It looked really good. I think I just might try it. It would take both arms to make. Stuffed large shells sound wonderful. I'm going to see if I have all the things to make it. This will be good exercise for my arm. She looked in her refrigerator and found all the ingredients that her new recipe called for. "Okay, here goes," she mumbled as she started supper for her husband for the first time since her fall.

Well Grandma Lu broke some shells, spilled some salsa, and generally made a big mess, but all she needed help with was putting it in and taking it out of the oven. Her doctor had told her not to lift anything. Her husband helped her and said supper was delicious and wanted leftovers the next day. Oh how happy that made her feel. "I feel so much better about myself. I think I might be able to write a story again. I am going to do more exercises and quit feeling so sorry for myself. I have to be very careful though so I don't hurt my arm again.  I think I will call Grandma B and tell her about my good supper."

 The doctor had given her new exercises that he said would make her arm get better faster. Ouch they hurt, but she knew she had to do them to get better. She had things to do! She wanted to go to Marleewood and see the children and her friends. She had stories to write but she couldn't reach the keyboard yet. "Err, I have to get this arm better even if it hurts. If Jackson, and Sam can smile even though they have broken bones and Joshua was smiling even though he had to have a bad cut stapled shut, well then so can I."