This 4th of July started out like any other, but ended in a way that I will most definitely never forget.
 
I'd met up with my very best girlfriends from college for a weekend on the beautiful beaches of San Diego.  The morning started off great.  We spent a couple hours on the beach, but thanks to the San Diego County Commissioners, alcohol is no longer allowed.  So, we decide to head back to our hotel room for a cold one.
 
My friend Kristy had lectured me the entire trip, for wearing my cute wedge sandals and not flip flops, to the beach.  Apparently she was on to something.  Just blocks from our hotel, I let out a yelp and suddenly lost my breath.  As my friends try to figure out if I'm practicing Lamaze or just losing my mind, I hop over to a bench and explain what happened.  During our casual stroll down the sidewalk, I hit a crack and rolled my foot.  Then, after hitting the crack, I heard a crack.
 
Enter: 2 cold Coronas and 2 Advil.  The cure to almost any ailment.

After a couple hours of icing and elevation, my friends deem me healthy enough for a BBQ.  Jessica carries me out to the beach (and yes, the sight was as comical as you might imagine) and lays me out on a blanket.  For the rest of the night they feed me carne asada, homemade guacamole and ribs as I try to wince away the pain.
 
The next morning I make the executive decision that Urgent Care needs to be somewhere on the day's schedule.  It's a good thing we squeezed it in.  Displaced fracture of the 5th metatarsal.  The first bone I've ever broken, and I don't even have a good story to explain it.
 
5 days later, I'm still swollen, bruised and broken, but I've learned a thing or two in the process.  I've learned how to feed my dogs by crawling on the kitchen floor, because it's the only way I can carry their bowls.  I've learned how incredibly embarrassing it is to ask a friend to run my bath, after finding out the hard way showers are out of the question.  And I've also learned it's humanly impossible to carry a coffee mug from the kitchen to my bedroom, while using crutches.
 
However, most importantly, I've learned what it's like to have a physical handicap in the United States.  And I can proudly say that right now, there's nowhere else I'd rather be.

Yesterday, when I hung my handicapped parking pass on the rear view mirror, threw my crutches into the car and swung my right leg over the center console, so I could drive with my left foot, I was reminded of the fact that however difficult, this is something I can do.  And when I reached a daunting staircase, faced with the possibility that I could topple down it, crutches and all, I was greeting with a ramp.  And when I finally did make it to my destination, there was a motorized shopping cart to help me get through the store (fun!).

The point of all this rambling is that our wonderful country has made losing my independence so much easier.  I think back on the founding fathers, civil rights leaders and lawmakers who took a stand to preserve our rights.  I say thank you to the activists who stood up for change.  And finally, I remember all of the soldiers who have fought, or are still fighting, to preserve the freedom and independence we enjoy today.

So, nearly a week after this "Losing-My-Independence" day, I'd like to say HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY to everyone in this wonderful country that we live in.