When I wrote this a few years ago I had fallen outside when feeding the animals.
But I was reminded of the post when I fell-hard!-on sharp rocks in our creek playing with my grandson. I was holding his hand and both of us went down when my foot slipped.
I hobbled up the bank with a giant bleeding gash on my knee and I’m still living with a permanent knot on my kneecap. Poor little guy was frightened but not hurt.
He has recited that incident over and over and always ends it with, “I’m okay. Mama D okay. We’re okay.”
He can’t wait to get in again when it’s warmer.
I absolutely love, love, love that my sweet little boy has already learned the lesson of getting back up, even when it hurts.
It’s something I need to remember every. single. day.
❤ Melanie
I hate that question that every doctor’s office asks now, “Have you had any falls in the past twelve months?”
I always say, “no” even though that’s rarely true.
Because I know what they are looking for is evidence of disease that might be impacting balance and I’m perfectly free of that so I don’t want to place a red flag in my medical chart.
But I fall down pretty regularly. Mostly because I trip over something as I’m walking from one animal enclosure to another, hands full of buckets and mind somewhere else.
The other day was one of those moments.
I was done feeding our beagles, headed back to the house when my feet found a random piece of looped wire on the ground. (I still have no idea where it came from!)
There’s that split second when you know a fall is coming and your mind tries to figure out how to stop it even as your body is giving in to gravity.
Down I went! Hard! On my left knee and right wrist but sparing my head.
It really, really hurt. In fact, it hurt so badly that I simply rolled over and rocked back and forth for a second or two.
Then I realized there was no help for it but to put weight on those knees and wrists and get up. So I took a deep breath, counted to ten and pushed myself up. I hobbled back into the house to survey the damage and put ice on my knee.
And I reminded myself once again that I can do things that are hard, that are painful and that seem impossible.
Life is full of falls-real ones that bang up body parts and figurative ones that wreak havoc with hearts.
They all hurt.
When I find myself down and out I have a choice.
I can sit in the pain and lie helpless and hopeless.
Or I can take a deep breath, gather my courage and get up.
Every time I choose courage, I build up my reserve and strengthen my resolve and make it more likely I’ll get up every time.
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