The Leg Trap

I have to admit that although I had admirable intentions, I haven't been to the gym since November. My entire fitness routine was sidelined from the injuries sustained when I fell before Thanksgiving. It wasn't until June that I was able to walk up stairs without my ankle feeling weak and tender. Nearly 10 months since the accident, I have only recently felt normal and able to work-out. 

One morning I woke up early and finished all of my reports before the boys woke. Feeling strong and eager to regain my momentum, I thought it was the perfect day to tackle the gym. Unfortunately, Murphy's Law intervened. I searched the house for an hour but couldn't find my leg!

I have my Mod III set up and aligned for the gym. It took a long time to dial in the appropriate height for my sneakers, and it is the only socket which feels comfortable when I'm hopping up and down. In addition to the alignment issues, my left sneaker was laced onto that foot. I certainly couldn't work out wearing a sneaker and a sandal, so my work-out plans were spoiled.

Despite looking through closets and in cabinets, I wasn't able to find my leg. My frustrations with my missing leg reached a fevered pitch. I hate losing things, and it felt utterly absurd to have lost a leg!

I was about to resign myself to the fact that my leg was gone forever when Robby had an epiphany. Looking up at me from the couch the other day he said, "Momom, I think I remember where I saw your running leg." I reminded him that I had offered a $5 reward to anybody who found it, and he shot off the couch like a dart. I heard the front door open and slam behind him, and I watched him run into the woods.

A few minutes later he came into the house, triumphantly holding a muck covered, dirt ridden leg covered with leave bits. I immediately grabbed the leg before he was able to put it on our sofa and placed it in the sink.Before hosing it down I asked Robby where he found it.

That's when I found out that Robby and his friend Rowan had tried to make a squirrel trap. From what I gather, they built the trap back in June by putting carrots into the bottom of my socket and balancing a board on top. When the animal walked into the socket, they figured that the leg would move and dislodge the board, trapping the critter.

The friends diligently covered the leg with dirt and leaves to create a camouflage and promptly forgot about it. Rowan went away for the summer, and Robby became distracted with vacation fun. It wasn't until she came home that he remembered the trap--and my leg.

Thankfully, their plan was ill-conceived, and they didn't catch any wildlife in my socket. To his dismay the reward money was revoked when I learned that he was the one responsible for the missing leg. I was angry but had a hard time keeping a straight face while saying the words, "Don't ever take any of Momom's legs out of the house."

Knowing that I needed a little alone time to decompress, I sought refuge in my bedroom.  I fired up my laptop, logged onto my HotSpot Shield VPN , which instantly transported my computer to New Zealand, and proceeded to investigate ways to remove 4 months of forest gunk from my carbon fiber foot.