Rat race

I would imagine all three of my children remember the time when I, riding the down escalator, got a particular gleam in my eye, said “I can do this” and started to run up the down escalator to where they were all standing. I made it to the top, where I tripped/sprawled forward, packages et al. In one of my proudest mama-moments, none of my children reacted by pretending that they did not know me. In fact, they all came running to make sure I was okay.

I posted this observation and video on Facebook the other day, knowing my kids would get a kick out of it. I have always had a ‘can-do‘ attitude. However, sometimes can-do and my knack for risk taking pair up and invite poor judgement along for the ride as well, generally to the detriment of my health.

Per wit: this morning I had a dust-up with a dresser, and the dresser won. It began innocently enough, as I made the decision to relocate a lamp. En route to its final resting spot, I saw that my path was blocked by an assortment of boxes, scattered clothes hangers and loose papers. At that moment, I should have turned back. But no…

My left foot caught in the hem of my bathrobe, and I  stepped right onto the slippery pile of papers. Disaster. Focussed on not dropping/breaking the lamp, I pitched face first into the corner of the dresser. The lamp was fine, and (miraculously) only the glass vitrine that crashed to the floor was broken. Truly, I could have done so much more damage.

The area around my left eye is a bit scratched up and may yet develop into a shiner. Hopefully I learned something though. The willingness to surmount obstacles is undoubtedly a useful quality, but not when undermined by foolhardy impulsivity. First, do no harm.