I’m a little confused by Linda G. Hill’s instructions for today’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. First, she says that the prompt is “last thing that broke/you had to fix.” But, then she goes on to say that we should “think about the word that best describes the last thing that stopped working for you and use that word any way you’d like.”

So are we supposed to write about the last thing that actually broke that we had to fix? Or are we supposed to use the word that describes the last thing that stopped working and write about that word?

For example, if the last thing that broke that I had to fix was my toaster, should I write about that broken toaster and what I had to do to fix it?

Or, since my toaster is old, should I write about the word “old” because it describes the last thing that stopped working?

Do you see my dilemma here? Well, I guess I’ll do both.

The last thing I broke was my hip when I fell off a ladder. What did I have to do to fix it? I had to have emergency surgery for a partial hip replacement and go through nine-months and counting of physical therapy to fix it.

What word would I use to describe falling off a ladder and breaking my hip? I think it would either be “careless” or “stupid.”