Slippery when wet

I fell in the water. I was ten years old –  the same age my eldest son Archie is now. My best friend (Mel) and I had gone to Clumber Park and had hired bikes. In 1989, shell suits and fluorescent cycling shorts were all the rage. My set included a luminous pink cropped top with black stripes down the sides and black shorts with a pink stripe (hot off a stall in Dewsbury market). Mel’s set was the same design but fluorescent orange. We thought we were the bee’s knees – like we’d just stepped off the cover of a Vogue magazine. Off we went, cycling around the park until, eventually, we were met with a ford across the stream. With the sun on our faces and the wind in our hair, we felt invincible (why were summers always hot and sunny when we were young?).

Perhaps this skewed our judgement…

Off Mel went, hurtling down the hill to the ford. Inspired by her joie de vivre, I followed suit – legs off the pedals and whooping at the top of our voices. Splash one. Splash two. There we were like little fluorescent bog monsters, wet through and covered in pondweed…laughing our heads off. You see, there’s a lesson there. In life, risks need to be taken. We ended up with bruised pride and backsides, but we learned something. Life might not turn out as planned, but the journey can be fun. We see this in the clinic a lot. Stuff happens. Injuries happen. Bad things happen. Life happens. It’s how you think about it and deal with it that matters. So when life gets tough, get your feet off the pedals, strap on your metaphorical psychedelic cycling shorts and laugh your way through it because you, too, will get to the other side – hopefully with less pond weed! 🐸