I absolutely do NOT kneed this.

While I was cleaning up this morning and putting all my stuff away in the back room at work, I spotted a wooden block under a table.

I walked over to the table, and standing on my right leg, bracing with my left, extended my body sort of under the table to get the block. And a kid who was walking through the cafeteria to get breakfast, intent on food and friends veered my direction, caught his foot on my left foot, violently wrenching my knee and almost making me fall down. If the table hadn't been right there, I would have fallen.

As it was, I had to sit for about five minutes on the bench and grit my teeth and make a real effort not to let the tears of pain that were welling in my eyes run down my face.

Oh. And yes.
The bad knee.
The one that's never been the same since the surgery to repair the ACL.
The one that's swollen and warm this evening.
The one that burns like there's a hot coal in it.

I can't even tell you right now how pissed off I am.

It wasn't the kid's fault, he was just doing what he was supposed to do, walking, not running, not being unsafe in any way. He just veered my direction at the same time I leaned down.

He apologized profusely, embarrassed to death. I reassured him that he hadn't done anything wrong, that it was okay, and that I was just fine. (A small lie in a good cause.)

I'm not "just fine" tonight, although I have hopes that resting it a bit this weekend will help. I will do some gentle PT exercises designed to reduce the fluid buildup, take aspirin and vicodin as needed, and hope like hell that I don't have to call and report it on Monday morning.

If it still hurts on Monday, I will report it and go get it checked out. And I will call my attorney first thing if I do.

I did not say any bad words in front of anyone at the school during my work day. But inside my head, every step? "shit shit shit shit shit."