That time I fell down a whole flight of stairs...

It happened SO fast.

One minute I was walking up the steps, coffee in hand, thinking about how nice it was going to feel to crawl back into bed and watch the sunrise while I made my to-do list for the day.

The next minute there was coffee and broken glass everywhere, and I was in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, writhing in pain and panicking at the realization that there was suddenly a big hole in my mouth where my teeth were supposed to be.

Within seconds, my husband Chuck, who had been sound asleep, was by my side, calming me down and assessing the damage.

One of his superpowers is his uncanny ability to stay totally level-headed in the midst of a crisis.

Because I was definitely not calm.

But the first thing he did was quickly locate the missing tooth, which happened to be laying on the bottom step, full root still intact.

The second thing he did was look up what to do with it.

And then he rinsed it off and patiently explained to me that we needed to get it back in place as quickly as possible for it to have the best chance of survival.

So that’s what we did, securing it in place with my old retainer.

Less than 15 minutes later, we were cuddled on the couch drinking fresh cups of coffee and making jokes about what a terrible way to wake up that had been, and how the universe must’ve been punishing me for getting up at 5am on a Saturday.

Because sometimes there’s nothing you can do except laugh and thank God you’re still alive.

And in that moment, even as we laughed, we were painfully aware of just how much worse it could have been.

Our stairs are very tall and very hard, and I fell from the very top.

I could’ve easily broken my arm, or my leg, or my neck.

But I walked away with nothing but a broken tooth and some nasty bruises.

Four days later, I’m still pretty banged up and I still don’t actually know if my tooth can be saved.

But honestly, all I feel is an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

I’m thankful I’m okay.

I’m thankful for a husband who knew exactly how to take care of me when I needed him most.

And I’m beyond thankful for all the prayers and kind messages of caring and concern. 

Because the truth is that life can change in a moment, when you least expect it.

You never actually know what tomorrow will bring.

I got very lucky this weekend.

I never did get to make my big weekend to-do list, or get all that stuff done that I was planning to work on. Frankly, I wasn’t very productive at all. And normally, that would bug me.

But I’m here. And I’m grateful. And that’s enough.

Author Jodi Piccoult once wrote, “Life can change in an instant; don’t be so worried about the future that you forget to celebrate what you have right now.” Along those same lines, John Lennon once said, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”

In other words? There’s always something to be grateful for right now.

We don’t always get to control the circumstances of our lives; in fact, we rarely do. We get sick, someone hurts us, things happen when we wish they wouldn’t, or they don’t happen when we wish they would.

But what we can control is how we respond. How we choose to react, and what we choose to focus on.

And so, my challenge for you this week, is to choose gratitude, even in the midst of the mess. It might not fix the problem, but it will change your perspective.

And sometimes that’s enough.

Live with purpose, friend, and have a wonderful week. (And be careful on those stairs!)

xoxo, Ruth

P.S. I always love hearing from you. Feel free to hit reply to this email to let me know how I can cheer you on!

This week’s podcast episode…

What’s cooking in my kitchen…

Here are the recipes I shared this past week:

The latest from my Instagram…

One of my goals this year is to be more consistent on social media, so I’ve committed to sharing at least one post a day on Instagram. If you’re there, I’d love to connect with you—find me at @RuthSoukup

What’s Happening Around RSO…