speaking of falling down

When we had the blizzard in 1993, snow stayed on the ground for over a week. I would walk across the side street to go to my elderly neighbor's house. I would do things for her. We would talk. We could talk on the phone, but a visit was better for both of us. And, we ate cheese sandwiches. And, I never fell down.

A friend lived up the block further, a foster mother in a group situation. One day, she called me heartbroken she had no candles for the birthday of one of the children. She was that kind of friend, she always made me volunteer to help her instead of asking. Anyway...

I "volunteered" to bring my candles to her. Of course, I walked. It was the fourth or fifth day the snow had been on the ground. I know that walking on thawing snow can be treacherous since it thaws a bit and refreezes all the time. Walking where anyone has stepped has snow pressed down and refrozen, too.

I set out walking in the yards of people, near to the road. The road was clearly refrozen in spots. I fell down about three times trying to cross the width of four narrow yards. On the way back, things were different. I fell down about twenty times. In one yard I fell five or six times--splat!

As I struggled to stay on my feet, then struggled to get up, becoming more tired with each fall, I wondered if people were seeing me. You know how a person struggling to walk and falling down even one time makes people inside interested. After all, they are snowbound with no place or way to go, so they have to find entertainment. 

They were probably watching to see if I would fall again. I am sure they called the family to see the woman who has fallen four times already in their yard. They probably used this as a teachable moment for kids who insisted on going out.

Well, that is what I would do! If you had been snowbound for almost a week, wanting to go out, wouldn't you watch this woman who insists on being out and falling? I am quite sure it was a good laugh.

Are you experiencing conditions that make you fall or fear you will fall?