I'm Tripping
Over the past week or so, I have tripped at least 6 times and I can’t even blame it on my dog. I always thought a trip was a trip but I have tripped so many times now that I have broken them down into 3 categories; the minor trip, the major trip and the epic trip. The minor trip is the most common and happens to all of us. Normally, I’ll be walking, stub my toe or trip over something on the floor, stay upright and continue on my way like nothing ever happened.
The major trip is not as easy to recover from and when it’s witnessed by others, it warrants a witty comment. It happens when I’m walking and one of my feet decides it doesn’t want to follow along anymore; thus, I involuntarily drag my foot on the floor and fall forward but not all the way down. Sometimes I regain balance and continue on and other times I will fall forward and brace myself with both hands on the floor or whatever else is close by. Then, I push myself back up and proceed. This trip is less common and I attribute it to Multiple Sclerosis and the affect it has had on my mobility. When people witness this type of fall, I tell them with a big smile on my face, “My legs must have gone on vacation without me. I wish I could be wherever they are right now.” This seems to diffuse the situation and helps me go on with my day.
The third is the epic trip that you see on “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” Everyone can remember a trip like this but I can remember 4 of them within the past 2 weeks. For instance, one day I was walking through the great room of my house in my daughter’s Crocs when my left foot decided it didn’t want to go anymore. I felt the tip of my left shoe get stuck on the floor and in that moment I knew I was going down. When I landed, I was on my belly, my arms were stretched out over my head and my legs were sprawled out behind me. It only took seconds for me to fall to the floor but it felt like it happened in slow motion. I always say, “Thank goodness I took dance for 14 years. It has taught to fall gracefully so I don’t break anything.”
Sometimes I trip so fast that there is no time to think or be graceful. Last Thursday, when I was leaving the house to go to the store, I followed the same routine I always do but something completely different happened. I grabbed my wallet and put on my glasses, walked from the house down 2 stairs into the garage, walked around my car to the driver’s side, grabbed the door handle and went splat. When the shock wore off and I ascertained that I had only bruised my right hip, I retrieved my glasses that had fallen off and I looked for the reason I fell. It turns out that my left foot got stuck in my dog's blanket in the garage. When I got up, I pushed the blanket away from my car, I said a few choice words, shook my head in disbelief and started laughing. Let’s hope the next “trip” I have is to Bermuda or some other tropical retreat instead of the floor.