Try, Try Again...

Maddux is the queen of klutz. She makes me look graceful, and that's saying a lot. She runs into walls, trips over imaginary road blocks, and loses her balance at the slightest breeze. This weekend, she finally did something every klutz does: stairway fall. I've done this once in the last six months, so I know how awkward and painful it can be. Maddux doesn't seem to be slowed down at all, so I'll go into detail about her fall, and how I did nothing to stop it. And then I'll tell you how much I enjoyed watching the process. (Wait for it.....)

We were both at the top of the kids' stairs (narrower than the main stair, with solid walls on either side). I stood at the top while Maddux took a few steps down. (There isn't enough room for us to walk side-by-side.) Then she somehow paused at the edge of the step she was on, leaned forward, lost her balance and started a tumble down. First she went head down, but at least she kind of rolled her body so that her face didn't hit the carpet first. Then (still in amazingly SLOW motion), she continued the roll so that she was head under heels, but not before her chin was caught under her, making the movement seem incredibly 'ouch'. A few more small rolls and she was done moving. I thought to reach out and grab her, but I knew I'd do more damage than good, as in my haste I'd slip and squish her or propel her down more stairs than necessary. Plus, even though it felt like slow motion, it didn't last more than a few seconds.

She was very shaken up, but a quick once-over provided me with enough proof that she hadn't sprained or strained anything in the fall. My favorite part comes next. (Just in case you thought I was a sadist and enjoyed the fall part, I didn't.) Maddux climbed out of my lap and started back up the stairs. Since we were headed down for dinner at this point, I said, "Maddie...you're going the wrong way. Let's go downstairs." She continued on until she reached the top. Then she stood at the top, grabbed the railing (something she didn't do the first time), and started walking down the stairs, one foot at a time. Maddux was muttering, "Do again" as she passed me, so I can only assume she needed to remind herself of the proper way to descend. Good stuff.