Learning my lesson

I guess maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks. 

Shortly after my wife and I were married, we visited Hawaii. We visited several of the beaches; Diamond Head, the volcanic cone on Oahu; and the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. (I can’t recommend enough stopping by the national memorial, especially the USS Arizona, it’s a touching experience.)

The highlight of the vacation was a quick side trip to Maui. We had it all planned out, we’d take the Hana Highway, a narrow 60-mile stretch of curvy road which connects Kahului to the town of Hana in east Maui. The highway is famous for its beautiful waterfalls, dramatic ocean views, and hiking trails. We were especially excited to stop at the Seven Sacred Pools, a collection of waterfalls located along the Kipahulu Coastline in the Haleakala National Park. 

After a long day of curvy turns, we made it to our destination. I was fascinated looking down at the waterfalls. It looked like something out of a magical fairytale. Our stay in paradise was short-lived. The next thing I know I looked back to see my wife sprawled on the ground in pain. She had fallen on the wet grass and pavement. We ran to a park ranger for help. He told us that we would have to drive an hour to the nearest medical facility.

The pain raced up my wife’s elbow and shoulder. We would learn later that she had a dislocated shoulder. At one of the worst moments, I told my wife to “suck it up.” Well not exactly, but that’s how it came out. What I meant to say was to stick it out until the next curve, where I would pull-over and try to calm her. I was trying to help my wife push through the pain, Lamaze-like, but all my wife heard was “suck it up, you wimp.”

Of course, those words never came out of my mouth, but I’ve had to live with the comment for years. It’s been a joke between us and one that I suspect will stay with us until the day we die.

Fast forward to this week. I had to travel to South Florida for work. My wife decided take a few days off and go along. We were excited, we would make a long weekend of it. Sure enough, while I was at work, she fell at our hotel and dislocated two bones and broke another one. 

On the way home from the hospital to our hotel room, my wife winced every time we hit a bump in the road that sent a streak of pain up her arm. Like an old dog, though, I learned my lesson. I simply gave her my best sympathetic look, offered an “ahh, I’m sorry” apology, and said nothing else.

I learned my lesson: sometimes it’s best to be quiet!