Let's get serious

I am usually not one to post about serious topics. But something happened today, and since most of my readers have a similar "tackle it now" personality, I decided to write about it.

I work in an industry that puts safety above all else. I worked in a manufacturing plant for three years, and steel toed shoes, ladder safety, and hard hats were part of my every day life. Even now that I have switched to a job that is strictly in the office, I still have to fill out a card every week with possible hazards (of sitting at a desk, walking, driving) and how I'm going to avoid them.

And yet, I'm not nearly as careful at home. I don't put on my safety glasses to mow the lawn. I don't maintain three points of contact when I'm climbing a ladder. And I wear flip flops when I'm doing tons of things I shouldn't. I've shocked myself more times than I can count because I didn't check to make sure I flipped the right breaker. But today, I really scared myself.

I was hanging a window topper that I made for the laundry room. I had used a kitchen chair to get up on top of the dryer. And I had just gotten home from the store, so I was wearing something probably even worse for climbing than flip flops--gladiator sandals. As I was about to step down, my shoe strap caught on the chair back and I fell, from the top of the dryer, into the kitchen, to the hard tile floor.

I am fine, but I really believe I got off easy. My head barely missed the counter top. I was able to get one foot under me to break my fall (which gave me a twisted ankle, but better than a possible break, right?). I got off lucky with my ankle, a busted lip, and some soreness in my back, arm, and neck. But it could have been much worse. I was home alone, and if I had hit my head, it could have been hours before Brett came home and found me. In the half second that it took for me to hit the floor, tons of scenarios went through my head. And I am so thankful that none of them happened.

I'm making a commitment to myself and my husband that I will have the same attitude towards safety at home as I do at work. From now on, it's strictly tennis shoes any time I'm climbing. We're thinking about shutting off the main breaker any time we work on electrical, but at the very least we're getting a volt meter and checking before we start. And I'm going to be very selective about which jobs I'll do alone at home. I'm not going to freak Brett out with my casual attitude towards very powerful saws.

I hope you guys will do the same without having a scare of your own. Really, it doesn't add much of an inconvenience, or extra time, and nothing is worth an injury, or even a scare!

And now, back to posts bout throw pillows and paint colors, I promise.