It could have been worse . . .

***UPDATE***

My finger is healing fine. In fact I no longer need to bandage it, and, if all goes as well as it appears, there should only be minor evidence of the accident. I am very grateful for the concern and love everyone sent my way. Thank you all.
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"It could have been worse." This is an oft used saying in the parlance of sports. Of course we often use this in everyday life when evaluating a myriad of life events, tragic or otherwise. I recently have experienced this first hand. On Saturday, November 17, I was working with my brother-in-laws and my dad doing some millwork for my parents house. We were working with a tablesaw. At this point you are probably already thinking, "Stop right there. I don't want to know." Well, I had a brain cramp and found myself doing something I knew I shouldn't. I put my hand to close to the saw blade and the running blade sucked my middle finger on my right hand towards the blade. Let me say that spinning steel and human flesh are not a good mix-but you all probably knew that already; so did I. And I sure do now.
The blade nicked the end of my finger. My first thought, even before looking at my finger was, "this is not a good thing." Not ouch! It was actually surreal. It took me a moment to fully realize what had just happened. I'd heard how others had these horrific accidents. Now I had joined this club of fools. Well, as the saying goes, "it could have been worse." My finger is sore. It will leave a nice scar. But I still have a complete finger. When it heals it won't be pretty, but it won't affect me in any way. And nobody will really even notice. Again "it could have been worse."

***UPDATE***

I had a hand specialists' PA look at my finger yesterday at the AF Hospital and he told me it looked great and will heal very nicely. That was good news. There never was anything to suture and it wasn't deep enough to reach the bone. Plus the nail is fully intact.
I saw a news piece this morning on The Today Show about a nine year-old boy with a rare leg condition which has taken away his ability to walk. Doctors told him things would only get worse. The options were to do nothing or to have the leg amputated. This brave boy chose to have his leg amputated. What courage that took. I realized shortly after the accident and then again this morning how forunate I am in comparison. Sure, temporarily I am having to use my left hand; a minor inconvenience. Eating is more difficult. Getting dressed is harder. And it seems as though I am continually giving everybody the 'bird.' But as I already mentioned, this is temporary. My last post was about the things I am grateful for. I am grateful that I am healthy and that it wasn't worse.

Thanksgiving

I Started this entry with Thanksgiving just a few weeks away. I thought I'd get a jump on thinking about what I'm thankful for. Instead of doing a top-ten list I've decided to simply start writing and see what happens. I will continue to add to this from time to time.

Family, Jesus Christ, the Lord, the Holy Ghost, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, beautiful, modest women, being healthy, dogs, clean air, the right to vote, a free country, my laptop, a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, clean water, good food, clean clothes, quality tv programs, BYU sports, BYU in general, my afghan blanket (I know that is redundant), my dad's paintings, my nieces and nephews, my heritage, my education, my opportunities, my testimony, being tall, Disneyland, the Utah Jazz, traveling, airplanes, my car, my bike, the mountains all year long, snow, clean jokes, kissing a cute girl, cuddling, hugging, holding hands, country music or just good music, the smell outside after a good rain, tapioca pudding my nana used to make, Temples, the scriptures, President Hinkley, flu shots, Mondays-Sundays, Christmas, cell phones, my iPod, having served a full-time mission, sun sets, pro football, college basketball, being happy, people listening to me, friends, genealogy, the moon and the sun, rocks, birds, a clean house, working hard, a full head of hair, listening to others, pillows, money, being able to draw, desire, attitude, hope, faith, charity, honesty, being a full-time friend, forgiveness, the Atonement, the United States of America, laws, running, swimming, dvds, sidewalks, sand, oceans, palm trees, the sound of the wind, driving with the windows down, a working radiator, cheap gas, people who like me, fish, green grass, blue skys, safe drivers, dedication, volunteers, a restful sleep, naps, snacks, staying clean, Applebees, Cheesecake Factory (we finally have one here in UT), McDonalds, still more to come . . .