Thursday, March 5, 2009

what's in a name?

ever since i was young i have been known for my messiness...and clumsiness. i constantly trip over things in my room [the corner of the bed...the blankets cause i don't make my bed], run into corners of walls or desks at work, yesterday i knocked over a full glass of coffee on my desk [i do this probably once a month]. one time at my parents house, i was coming downstairs and my foot slipped and i slid on my butt half way down the stairs. my parents ran to my aid [they always prepare for the worst], my dad leaping on me to stop me from falling down anymore stairs. i look up at them, and my mother just says, "oh ame. that's the third time you've fallen today."

my parents gave me my dad's mum's name for my middle name - Grace. little did they know this would shape me to be ungraceful for my entire life.

i used to dislike my middle name. i guess i thought it was old fashioned. now i love it and use it wherever i can. it's tattooed on my ankle.

i probably had one of my worst episodes of "grace" on Monday. i'm the first one to work in the morning, so i always make coffee for the office. while doing so, i get my breakfast of yogurt & granola and toast. then, i take everything upstairs where i eat it while checking emails and beginning the day's work. about an hour later, i take everything back downstairs [plate, bowl and large mug], wash it, get more coffee and come back up.

Monday was no different, until i took the trip back downstairs. somehow my heel caught on the SECOND STEP and i went down - face first. i was balancing the bowl and plate in my left hand [where the railing is] and a mug 1/2 full of coffee in the right hand. i had no way of stopping myself. i managed hitting my feet on every stair, landing on my right side [thigh/leg/ankle] 1/2 way down the stairs, and flopping face first onto the concrete below. thanks to my 13 years of volleyball and diving experience, i landed on the ground using my left knee, hands and chest as my buffer. my face never hit the ground once.


as i lay sprawled on the ground, i imagined i looked just as a cartoon character "splattered" on the ground would look. co-worker bethany was in the office, on the phone upstairs. i knew she had to of heard my fall, but i couldn't tell if she was talking to the person on the phone or me. i waited. she tells me she called my name several times, and i didn't respond. of course, she thought i was unconcious or something. i heard her run and get to the top of the stairs where she yelled "AMY! are you alright?!" to which i responded, "well, i haven't broken any bones." and i started to move. i looked around, at the nail sticking out of the door 12" from my face. the bowl and plate still intact behind me, and the mug [and coffee] shattered EVERYWHERE around me. bethany ran back to the phone and told the woman, "i'm sorry, but my co-worker just fell down the stairs. i have to go." to which the woman seemed irritated. THANKS, LADY.




needless to say, i managed to survive from this fall with a bruise on my knee and thigh and a small cut on my finger. pretty amazing.

i would say my experience in falling really helped here. i have fallen so many times, i know how to position my body so that it will hurt the least. several time's i've tripped on a cord or rope and just thrown myself on my chest, like i would in playing volleyball. i've avoided skinned knees in this exercise, but managed to attract a lot of attention in doing so.

i'm not sure what to do about my clumsiness. maybe i'm doomed for life. maybe when i TRY harder to NOT be clumsy, it makes it worse. maybe i need to slow down and take my time and i will stop falling all the time.

6 comments:

*kc said... Best Blogger Tips

1) Ouch!
2) Time to install some rubber, anti-slip strips on the stairs
3) I'm sorry you broke the mug
4) Ouch!
5) That looks like a screw - not a nail
6) I'm glad you're okay and didn't hurt your pretty face.

jendakerr said... Best Blogger Tips

Yipes,
the thought of that nail sticking in you somewhere makes me shudder..glad you're ok!

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

oh my gosh. in retrospect i wish you would have snapped a pic of the broken mug and stuff when it happened, but i guess you were busy.

this was awesome :)

*Stace* said... Best Blogger Tips

hahhaaHA! oh my gosh!! i'm still laughing. and I really shouldn't be because I am your friend . . i mean . . you fell and hurt yourself. . . but its just sooooo funny b/c you really are so clumsy!! and it just makes me laugh, b/c really there isn't a time where we can't laugh at you falling or being clumsy! i loved this post!! we love your name amy grace!

Kristin Lynch said... Best Blogger Tips

I thought the same thing Rachel did - but you were obviously busy getting yourself ready for your next disaster. ;)

I'm glad you're OK, but you must still be in pain. I'm just glad you didn't poke your eye out or burn yourself with the coffee.

As for 'Grace', I'm so clumsy my friend Karen always says 'this is why your name isn't Grace' every time she's witnessed one of my self-inflicted disasters.

Ron said... Best Blogger Tips

When I was a kid, I'd fall down the stairs at our old house constantly. Right at the bottom of the stairs was this huge cold air vent, and I'd smack into that thing every time. I'd have nightmares of falling down the stairs and then falling through the vent into some scary world full of whatever was frightening to a 9 year old (Watching Little Monsters probably wasn't a good idea).

So now, whenever I go up stairs I usually run up them instead of walk, and when I go down stairs I do the same. And those nightmares scared some balance into me, because I have never fallen down stairs since then.

Now that I've said that, watch as I fall flat on my ass or face as I use the stairs.