I’ve been really good about my water and fruit intake lately, and it’s been showing in my skin. This morning I was marveling at its clarity; it was dewy, almost glowing. I say this not to sound smug, but because it wasn’t until after 35 that my skin really began to improve — so I’ve only recently a) made peace with it and b) been able to appreciate it. Hey, so it took three and a half decades (and a bit of Obagi love). Whatevs.

In between today’s girly mani and pedi appointments, I stopped by my house to pick up the birthday gift for a party I was going to following my toes getting spruced up. I was bringing sparkling wine with me, and I knew the temps were around 90. Having a bottle of bubbly sitting in a hot car while I pedicured it up didn’t seem right, so I figured I’d let it rest in between two large Ziploc bags filled with ice. Instead of using the ice dispenser on the freezer door, I figured it’d be easier to remove the bin itself and get the ice into the bags that way.

Good idea, but with a big, huge execution fail. The ice bin didn’t want to come out, so I had to wrestle it loose with a bad (read: weak, sore, stiff) right wrist. I ended up bear hugging the bin and jostling it around to get it out of the freezer and, sure enough, out it came.

It also slammed right into my chin.

I had a perfectly straight, long slice running parallel to my lower lip and it was starting to bleed. The things I do to keep a bottle of vino cool, I tell you.

I ended up icing it (since, after all, the frozen stuff was über handy), smearing some ChapStick over the cut and covering it up with makeup before running out the door again. So there’s that: my good skin day was pretty short-lived. Oh well.

Not every good streak gives us such an abrupt, painful reality check, but some do. We might be marveling at bliss just as rage decides to body check us, or maybe it’s more subtle than that. Either way, it seems life often reminds us to not get too comfy and to keep a watchful eye out for a changing tide. It’s not to say that we should always be on high alert, but keeping one’s feet firmly grounded and one’s head from drifting too high into the clouds can help balance out the highs and the lows.

Today, for realizing that every season has its end and that all good things generally come to a close of some sort, I am thankful. Will I be on the lookout next time and be ready for the next good skin day to possibly go sideways? Check. You betcha.