Small Steps

If you go out in the snow, take small steps. Stand upright, knees slightly bent.

If you use a cane, prod ahead slightly, plant it firmly when you find a solid place to anchor it, then take one small step.

And remember to keep taking small steps when you go indoors, especially if you have a wood or linoleum floor, because if you have no place to de-boot, your boots will be slippery.

You don’t want to be like my wife, who took the small steps through the snow, then strode out when she entered the kitchen. Her booted foot shot out from under her, her body took on a horizontal posture mid-air, and gravity did the rest.

She crashed down, her ribs taking her full weight against a metal waste bucket on the way to the floor.

Fortunately, no bones were broken, but her pace was--for weeks.

--H. W. Bryce