I spent the week talking to doctors about the many things we think of as “fun” that land us in the emergency room. Barbecues, fireworks, lawn work and gardening, pools, softball, boats and jet skis… You name the activity and they’ve seen someone come through the emergency room doors with an injury related to it.
As I spoke with them, I thought of the dumb things I’ve done during summertime activities: mowing the grass in flip flops; neglecting to clear the grass of sticks, toys and rocks before mowing (casualty: two basement windows); riding on the boat of sailors more inexperienced than me, and that’s saying something; reaching under bushes to clear debris without looking to see what else might be under there (hard to say who was more startled, me or the rather large snake I disturbed - I’d say me, since the snake did not run away screaming at the top of its lungs); allowing friends to barbecue while drinking; leaving a kiddie pool sitting full and unattended in my backyard for several days; unloading hundreds of pounds of dirt and stones on the very first nice day of spring…
Any one of these activities could have resulted in serious injury or death to myself or others. I know better; I write about safety every day. I can’t allow summer to lull me into a “do as I say, not as I do” attitude. For me, the “Aha! moment” was the snake.
What about you? What “Aha! moment” have you experienced this summer?