Two Dog Tales

Curve Balls and Fowl Balls

by Annie Stocker


Every once in a while in life, as my father would say, we are "thrown a curve ball."

One month ago I  threw myself a curve ball. It was just before 6am on my 3 block bicycle commute to Big Dog to teach. In the bright, cool summer solstice air, I carried tender zinnia starts in a canvas bag from my home garden to transpant into Ganesh’s Guerilla Garden (the flower-filled parking strip Two Dog maintains). The zinnia bag caught in my bike's front wheel, turning it abruptly left as I continued right. Downward, onto my shoulder head and hip, resulting in a fractured collar bone, concussion (spotty memory of the event) and most painful of all, bruised ribs that caught the full impact of the fall. Amazingly, my ribs didn't break but in tandem with fascia, muscles and ligaments, they stretched, flexed and cushioned the collision.
In the big picture, I would consider this a mini minor league curve ball. I sit here just one month later pretty close to back to my normal life: no more sling, only small remnants of 'fear of sneezing’ syndrome,  and full use of two hands on the key board. The challenge now is to be calm and still for the next two weeks, while feeling so much better but while my body still needs time to knit and recover before I can offer bodywork again or do plank alongside my students.

Meantime: a dear friend and I went to a Mariner’s day game a week ago. A pop fly came racing toward us—with everyone else in our vacinity, we stood up….. I tentatively reached up my left arm, picturing a perfect catch while not shaking up my right collar bone. But it wasn’t to be…like curve balls, the outcome of pop flys isn’t really possible to predict, much as we’d like that. The ball flew well  over my hand. I sat down took another bite of my chicken and continued watching the game. A  minute later, I felt a gentle bump from the chicken container at my feet. The ball had rolled into our chicken, a Fowl Ball! 
Maybe I’ll create fowl ball altar at the studio.

I’m reminded all over again that growth and change and expansion happen in life in concert with struggle, surprises, dashed expectations and every other sort of curve ball. It’s been a pleasure relearning what it’s like to teach without doing poses, and remembering how hard (and sweet) it is to humbly receive receive receive, so much.

May your life be rich with curve balls and fowl balls,
Annie

 

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