Ouch!

I just fell down the stairs for the first time in a long time. I had forgotten how much it smarts.

When I first moved to Bocas del Toro Panama, I used to fall down the stairs all the time. Something about living in the rain forest means that it rains. Rain means things get wet. Flip flops and wet stairs are not a good combination. One false foot placement and you hydroplane. Hydroplaning on stairs – not a good idea.

Over time you learn to a) wear different types of shoes with more traction when it is raining, or b) watch where you put your foot when you are walking and it is raining. Then inevitably, you return to day to day life and think you know all there is to know about the workplace hazards and you screw up.

Today, I was carrying a bag of laundry, that literally was bigger than me, down the stairs in the rain wearing flip flops. My husband had just informed me that we have sufficient water to do several loads of laundry without decreasing our water supply so I jumped at the chance. Instead of waiting for one of my employees to return to work to help me carry the bag of laundry, I picked up the bag and headed down the stairs to the laundry room. I made it most of the way down the stairs and then I was down. I don’t even know which step was misplaced in my descent, but what I do know is that I am going to be reminded of my stupidity for an extended period of time.

The hematoma that is blossoming along my lower back and the stiffness associated with my tensing up as I fell will serve as gentle reminders to me not to be so dumb for some time to come. And then some months down the road when I have forgotten about this fall, I will do it again.