I Fell Down and Went Boom

Two days ago I blithely sauntered out my front door, down the steps and across the raised concrete pathway when...suddenly...my right foot slid out from under me in a completely unexpected direction and I started to fall.

In that millisecond of time between starting to fall and landing, I thought to myself, "Self, how can I stop this fall?" and the only answer that came to me was, "Self, you can't. Go with it." And, that fast, boom I was down in the mud.

The next thing I saw was my younger son G. looming over me in the sky, looking rather concerned.

G: Mommy, are you laughing or crying?
Me: Both. Ha, ha, sob, sob!
G: Why?
Me: Crying because it hurts. Laughing because I feel really silly.
G: Yeah, you look pretty silly. (eruption of relieved giggles...)

And then he had to pull me up off the muddy walkway and help wipe the mud off my jeans, and away we went on our original outing.

As if nothing had happened at all.

Until that evening.

When everything started to hurt real bad.

Older son D. wanted a bedtime cuddle with Mom, so I invited him to curl up with me on the big bed on the condition that he not move too much 'cause Mommy was not feeling too well.

Me: D., you're moving.
D: Yeah, so?
Me: Well, when you move, you move me and right now I don't want to move 'cause everything hurts.
D: Why?
Me: Well, you know, Mommy fell down today.
D: So?
Me: So I hurt myself when I fell down.
D: Why?
Me: Well, I banged my ribs and my hip and my arm and they hurt.
D: Why?

This was not a very fruitful conversation up to this point, two people talking at cross purposes, until I realised exactly *who* I was talking to. This is Mister "Fall Down All Day Every Day and Pop Back Up as if Nothing Had Happened." Mister "Basketball and Soccer on Concrete? No Problem."

Me: Okay, right. So, when you get older it hurts when you fall down.
D: Why?
Me: Well, your body just kind of gets tighter and less elastic.
D: Oh, I get it! Like when babies fall down and they just bounce back up 'cause it's like they're made of rubber!
Me: Yeah, that's it. Mommies aren't made of rubber!