Shotgun
November 29, 2022 Uncategorized 0 comment athibeault23
The topic of broken bones is something I have become very familiar within my 17 years on this earth. Starting when I was just five years old, to most recently freshman year, I have had my fair share of breaking bones. In fact, I’ve broken five bones in total; my thumb, my wrist, my left elbow (twice), and my right elbow. I was always told to “drink more milk” so my bones would be stronger, but I tested that theory my whole childhood and it never seemed to work in my favor.
It was one of those typical below freezing, Maine Winter nights. I was in the 6th grade at the time and it was what I considered to be the best time of the year (basketball season). I had just finished my middle school basketball practice and was headed to go watch the Varsity Girls basketball game at the high school with my Dad and sister. We went in and watched the game, but if I’m being honest, I don’t remember anything about it because of the events that followed. We left the game and took a quick trip down to Oak Hill Cash Market to pick up our take-out dinner since we had no power at home, due to a recent winter storm. My dad, my sister, and I all went in so we could pick out a drink we wanted with our meal. We picked up our food at the counter and cashed out. I insisted on carrying my chicken tenders to the car with me, and nobody was going to stop me. We stepped out of the door and my dad urged my sister and I to, “be careful” so we don’t slip. That went in one ear and out the other for me. My sister and I constantly fought over shotgun, and this was one of those times. My sister started picking up her pace, and so did I. I was not going to lose shotgun to her, not again. Before I knew it we were both sprinting to the car. Balancing my chicken tenders and running, I was not aware of the black ice that was right in front of me. I took my next step, my feet came out from under me, and I fell right on my elbow. Instant pain shot from my elbow to my neck. I looked next to me and saw my chicken tenders laying in the dirt and salt of the Winter treated parking lot. As any 6th grader would, I instantly started crying. I think it was a combination of seeing my meal sprawled out across the ground and obviously the pain I was in. I honestly was more devastated over the chicken tenders though. My sister tried grabbing them off of the ground, but it was no use. My dad rushed us home so we could see what my mom thought about my elbow, and if we needed to get it checked out. When we got home I was still crying and the sharp pains began to increase even worse. At this point I had broken three bones prior, so I knew what it felt like, and this was one of those times. I expressed this to my mom and she hopped in the car with us to head to the hospital.
When we got to the hospital I went in for x-rays and then waited patiently for the doctor to come in and tell us the verdict. It felt like an eternity waiting for him and it didn’t help that it was way past my bedtime. He came in and told me that I had broken my growth plate. “So no basketball?” I instantly asked him. He told me “no” and I was devastated. As he continued to talk I just drowned him out as I tried to fight back more tears. All I wanted was to play basketball, but I couldn’t because of a silly little race over shotgun.
When I look back at my fall to this day, it always makes me laugh a little. Mostly because of how devastated that I dropped my chicken tenders. But, I also look back and realize my mistakes that led me to that moment. If I would have just listened to my Dad when he told us to “be careful”, I wouldn’t have ended up out of basketball for 4 weeks, and I would have had a nice chicken tender dinner that night. But instead I made the awful mistake of running when there was a clear possibility of me slipping. What did I learn, you may ask? Well I learned that trivial things (like shotgun) aren’t necessarily worth the consequences that make a much bigger impact on life. So, next time anyone asks to “race me for shotgun”, I might just have to kindly decline.
