Just Like My Mother

I never thought I would admit this, but I am more and more like my mother every day. My mother is known for her klutziness. She falls, she walks into things, she bruises like a peach, she's had more surgeries than Michael Jackson, and she is constantly getting hurt. Kye has a similar trademark, although a lot of his injuries occur because he has no fear.

This weekend, I proved to be just like my mother and nephew: a klutz. Actually, it started before this weekend, but I've injured myself twice in less than three days. It all started last October when I bought my clip in shoes and pedals. Literally, your shoes clip into your bike pedal, and you have to twist your foot pretty hard to get your shoe out. When approaching a stop, you have to be prepared to twist long before the stop to allow time to get your shoe on the ground.

In a previous post, I shared my first experience riding with my clips. I fell twice that afternoon; a car, of course, saw one of the falls and pulled up beside me to see if I was OK. I was more embarrassed than anything, and I quickly got up and pedaled away. About a month ago, I fell again. It wasn't entirely my fault. We came down a big hill where we had to turn 90 degrees and start riding up a long hill. I made the turn and my chain fell off, so I tipped over onto the road. The girl behind me almost ran me over, but she was quick enough to avoid me.

This weekend during the MS ride, I took my nastiest fall yet. AND I WASN'T EVEN RIDING. I was standing! I had one shoe clipped in. The other shoe was on the ground balancing me. I don't entirely remember what happened, but I started to fall toward the side in which my shoe was clipped in, so there was no way of saving myself. I fell hard onto the pavement, almost taking down a co-rider. I fell so hard on my elbow I thought I had broken it, and I could feel blood dripping down my leg. After shaking off the pain in my elbow, I realized I hadn't broken it. The back of my leg was bloody and throbbing, so I took off toward the medical tent to get a band aid. I had to be my own nurse and clean the wound, which almost made me pass out (combined with the heat and exhaustion, I wasn't feeling very good). I bandaged myself up, and I was ready to ride again.

Two days have passed, and I'm a little tender. My elbow has a massive bruise, and the back of my leg is pretty cut up.

So today, I had another accident in a rental car. Actually, it was a rental Jeep, which is pretty high off the ground. I wore a dress today, so I had to be careful getting in the Jeep in order to avoid showing off Lady Land. I drove the Jeep to the body shop and waited for my ride to pick me up. My manager pulled up, and in the car with my manager were two other co-workers. As they were backing into the parking space, I was gathering up my purse and book. As I was getting out of the Jeep, I took a nasty fall out of the Jeep. I was stepping onto the ground trying to be lady like, and my heel got caught in the Jeep. I totally fell, showing the entire world my Lady Land. My shoe went flying off, but more than anything, I was mortified that my entire office had just seen me wipe out, or worse yet, seen my private parts.

I am uncertain if anyone saw anything. They weren't laughing when I got in the car, and no one said anything. I acted as if nothing had happened, but on the inside I was in pain. My leg was all scraped up, and I had gravel plastered to my leg. I nonchalantly brushed the dirt and gravel off while driving back to the office, and I can only hope no one saw me fall.

I'm a mess. A complete mess. I look like I've been in a fight...and I lost.