The Calm Before

One year ago today, November 18th fell on a Sunday, the Sunday of the CFL Division Finals. The Western Division game was between the Calgary Stampeders and the BC Lions. Notwithstanding that I now live in Calgary, I will always be a BC fan. I still cheer for the Lions and Canucks first. I had my supplies for the game and had a guest coming over to watch the game with me.

My guest was a woman I had met only once. We liked each other, and still do a year later although our relationship has definitely changed. This year has had an impact on all of my relationships, new and old. She was coming over to watch the game with me, so that we could get to know one another. It was to be a fun afternoon with her cheering for Calgary and me cheering for BC.

But I knew something, something she did not know. By this time I had come to realize that there was something seriously wrong with my health, that my slow loss of my ability to walk was probably not related to my back injury, but was probably something much more serious. The doctors had already hinted thus, but my fall the day before had told me a lot more than any doctor so far.

Not wanting to keep this a secret, I told my friend right away that this "back problem" may be a lot more serious than I originally thought. I told her she had a "get out of jail free card", so that when the going got tough, she had the freedom to go. She didn't go, at least not right away. That "get out of jail free card" was to be used, but much later, after a lot of things became clear. She stuck around during the tough stuff, something I will ever appreciate.

The tough stuff was yet to come, tomorrow. This was to be a pleasant Sunday afternoon, typical for Calgary, cold and clear, snow on the ground, a light wind whirling round. This was a calm day, a day for fun and laughter, to watch the game. This was the calm before.

My team lost that day, a harbinger of the days that were to come. I've lost a lot since then, not the least of which is the use of my legs. There have not been a lot of calm days since that day; it's been a bit of a storm.