We All Fall Down

     Nope, not a nursery rhyme.  We actually do all fall down.

     As toddlers, we fall down in our attempts to walk.  We fall.  We bounce.  Sometimes we cry.  We get up and do it again.  This is the way in most cultures.  There are those rare places on the planet where the children are held up from the ground and kept from touching the jungle floor.  When they achieve a certain height or age they are set on their feet and lead to their first steps.  They are not let go until they can walk on their own.  It's a real shame as these children never learn to read.  They have missed the steps in development needed to train the brain for symbol and concept resolve.  

     Yes, without the steps taken when a child scoots, then crawls then tries on their own to stand and walk, they miss the eye to brain coordination needed to read.  Life is painful.  But, without the falling down, we may fail to learn.  Some lessons, like some falls come more painfully than others.  

     Then some times we just trip.  I tripped.  Yesterday, on my way into a home I clean, I tripped.  Lesson?  Plenty.  Jeans that are too long are not cute, they are dangerous.  Sitting in the car for hours then jumping out without waiting for your legs to catch up, also a mistake.  Yup, we all fall down.  We learn lessons as we go down and based on the next decisions, we learn more lessons.  

     Like the toddler I once was, I bounced.  I got up taking another step, I brushed myself off, went on to work knowing that today, I would feel the real pain, and the bruise would be in technicolor!

     I am so kicking myself mentally for being so foolish.  I was thinking of a character in Rawles' book, Patriots and Founders who misjudged her height from the ground and broke her leg with one misstep.  I was lucky not to break anything but my dignity.  The bones are alright, and no one was around to see.   I had my phone and a good signal if I needed to call for an ambulance, but I live in a 'what if' state of prep.  


     That gave me pause for thought, what if I had been more seriously damaged? What if there were no electricity?  What if there had been a broken bone? What if there were no safety net of family to close ranks around me while I recovered?  Yup, I had some thinking to do today as I switched the ice pack from one side of the bruised knee to the other.  

     So, I fell down, what did I learn?  I learned, next time I return to that house, I will be more cautious of the curb and I will not take that fall again.  I learned that the front pocket is no place to keep a phone if you need to make a call.  I learned anyone wanting their house cleaned by me won't mind if I take my time arriving.  I decided if anyone does mind, they need a new housekeeper!  

     Yup, we all fall down.  I didn't like it.  Tomorrow I post something more preppy.