[wobbling significantly as he starts walking]
“I am not sure this floor is entirely stable. ” – C-3PO, Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
Dad Windu is a bit of a soccer junkie. He has gotten banged up, crashed into and knocked around more often than I like to remember but, like I said, the man is a junkie and will not stop. For a “common sense living” kind of man, he takes a detour for soccer that is beyond my understanding. He absolutely loves to play and will grab at the chance to pick up an extra game here or there. Currently, he’s only scheduled to play once a week, but Monday brought the joy of a request for him to sub tonight.
By now, I’m used to the assorted bumps, bruises, scrapes, and shins, elbows and knees rubbed raw. I’m used to hearing, “Hmm, I wonder when I did that,” when he changes out of his gear after a game. I no longer feel like I’m going to faint when his teammates set him between two players on a bench to make sure he doesn’t pass out after he gets smashed into a wall (indoor soccer season).
You could say I’ve been there and done that. I drove him to the ER after he tore a ligament in his ankle when we were dating. I drove him to the ER when he cracked a rib playing a few summers a go. Dislocated shoulder? Big deal. For the most part, I try to keep my Tell me again why you continue to play this sport? thoughts to myself when he asks me to pick up some more leg tape for his weak ankle, to start running the tub so he can soak his hip, or to get the gauze to cover a new patch of missing skin.
Tonight’s injury, however, is a real winner. He got hit by the ball on the side of his head and now has a nice, bright, fist-sized bruise between his eye and temple. It looks, quite literally, like I lost my mind and punched him but good. Concerned about the location of the injury, I asked if his ears were ringing. “Not anymore,” he said brightly. “That stopped a little after the dizziness went away, when I wasn’t seeing spots anymore.”
Oi vey.
And yes, they made him sit on the bench for a half hour between two players while he recovered to make sure he didn’t pass out.
