Response to Daily Prompt: Mistake

I am not even embarrassed by falling anymore. Why bother? I am eventually going to fall down again and probably fairly soon. You would think that I would spend so much time being embarrassed. So much wasted time. I might as well keep trying to stay upright. After all…these falling down moments are just mistakes. The sidewalks are making mistakes. The stairs are making mistakes.

Sometimes, just one step up or down can make a mistake. Or maybe…a rug makes a mistake. Rugs are not very dependable. They tend to behave poorly. They get in my way. I am the moving person and rugs are supposed to be rather stagnate objects. Rugs evidently have not received the message.

Or perhaps I have not received the message. I am either incredibly clumsy, possess a short supply of balance, have a short attention span, or I am just talking too much. It is difficult to talk and receive instructions about stairs, slippery floors, or uneven rocks when I have so much that I need to say. I have to step up to the plate and admit that I have a problem.

My problem is that I really do fall A LOT. People who know me really don’t think anything about these mistakes. “Oh…there she is…on the floor again. Don’t worry. She can figure out how to get up.” If I really did badly hurt myself, I would have to either scream louder than a baby who wants a pacifier or hope that I can reach my cell phone. Or perhaps I could just ignore the pain. I have experience ignoring the pain.

Listed are my most memorable falls…better known as simple balance mistakes:

1. I was happily walking out our front sidewalk to get the newspaper. Our neighbor said “Good Morning” from across the street. I waved to her just as I stepped onto the grass to take a few steps towards the newspaper. My right foot missed the grass and stepped into a plastic utility box in the ground. The box has something to do with the yard sprinkler system. Of course, I did not look down to see that the lid was off. I fell down while twisting my ankle. My ankle wasn’t the biggest problem. I also completely tore a ligament in my right hand. Surgery was required and pins placed right above my wrist. I did not get along with those pins. The doctor was so glad when I recovered and he didn’t have to hear my complaining.

2. We were having our annual pre-Thanksgiving luncheon for the children when I taught at our church Day School. Such a fun day for the teachers and the children. We had all of the children sit on the floor in a huge circle. We sang songs, told the Thanksgiving story, and every child received a plate of turkey, dressing, applesauce, and I can’t remember what else. While I was walking around helping to give each child juice and more juice, I slipped on that applesauce. Down, down, down. I broke my right arm in two places. I drove myself to the hospital even though my husband’s office was just 10 minutes away. Independent. My car was stick shift…such a cool car. So difficult to drive with a broken arm. Before I got to the hospital, my arm was swollen so much that they could not put on the cast for three days.

3. Three years ago, I decided to move a few pieces of furniture in the family room at our farm. There was absolutely no reason for the furniture change. My husband was doing something really important on a tractor…not in a pasture near the house. Therefore, he couldn’t hear his cell phone ring when I called him about my newest fall. I barely could reach my phone. It had flown out of my pocket. I fell between the sofa and an ottoman. I broke my right thumb. Instead of being slightly curved, my thumb is now totally curved. Quite hideous. I could have surgery, but it is so close to the area where I had those pins. My memories are keeping me from having the thumb fixed. I drop things constantly. The children at school were thrilled to walk behind me and pick up the papers that I dropped.

4. I have two knee replacements…yes, titanium knees…as a result of my dramatic icy sidewalk fall. I was walking into the Texas Girls’ Choir building one afternoon after teaching school all day. The ice on the streets had melted and the sidewalks at my school were fine. The ice at the choir building was staying around for a while. I stepped onto the sidewalk while holding five large notebooks. Of course, I fell down. I fell directly on both knees, but I saved those notebooks!! Totally ruined my knees.

5. Several years after my knees had been replaced, I had my most distressful fall of all. It happened on voting day when Barack Obama was elected president. The weekend before election day, we had dinner with a large group of friends. The conversation turned to politics. I should have just kept quiet. I did not keep quiet even when my husband said, “Shhh, Shhh”. I mentioned who I might be voting for and one of my close friends said, “Are you kidding? What are you thinking? If you vote for him… something will strike you down when you leave that polling booth”…she was really just kidding and we are still good friends. After I voted, all I could think about was what she had said. I did vote for “him“. As soon as I walked out the door of the voting location, I missed three steps. I fell flat on my face and my head struck a concrete pillar. This time, my fall really scared the people walking out with me. They didn’t know my falling background. I got right up and walked to my car with people following me. “Are you ok?”, “Don’t drive!”, “I’ll be happy to call your husband”. I drove myself home…just a few minutes away. I hurt all over. The next day, I had bruises on my face and my arms. I really had a dramatic exit.

So…there you have it…just a small sample of my falls. I have so many more to talk about. My fall walking into Target was a particularly special mistake. I can’t even talk about it…even though it is a rather funny story. I have not fallen in several months, except for the step I missed stepping down from our kitchen to the family room. We have only lived in this house for over thirty years. I forgot about the step. Really…just a mistake on my part!

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