The Day I Fell at Work

Today I fell on the playground.  There are a few steps that lead up to the sandbox area, or down from the sandbox area which was the direction I was going.  The playground surface is turf and it had sprinkled earlier in the morning so the ground was damp.  I also had on sandals.  Anyway like most falls it happened so quickly that the whole thing is a blur.  But I slipped on step #3 and just skipped the rest of the way down banging my underarm on the right side as I tried to catch myself.  YES, IT HURT.

It burned.  I actually saw the bruise develop right before my eyes.  I was wearing a light long sleeve jacket so maybe the thin fabric protected my arm from a scrape or abrasion.  But oh the bruising.

I gathered my composure as quickly as one does and looked around.  Nobody saw.  NOBODY SAW??

There were really no children nearby playing which is the reason I was walking away from the sand area.  30 feet away near the swing sets were no less than 6 adults.  SIX.  And not one of them saw me fall?  What if I had banged my head?  Would they have noticed I was lying there unconscious?

The burning and pain lasted over an hour.  I did hold a small ice pack that we keep in the class refrigerator for bobos on the bruise.   It didn't really help the pain, just made my arm feel cold.  I took a couple of advil and at 11am I noted that it didn't hurt anymore.  So the throbbing and burning lasted over an hour and a half.

I feel better now and am sporting a good looking gigantic bruise.

But here's the bigger question:  Do you notice things around you?  In a public place, do you notice people and situations?  The military calls it situational awareness.  I see it everyday.  Parents who do not pull all the way through the carpool line and instead stop at the first slot seemingly unaware that there are 30 cars behind them that would like to speed things up.  And while we're on the subject of carpool lines, at least once a week we have a near miss.  One happened today.  A mother talking on her cell phone and completely unaware of traffic walked right out in front of a car going through the carpool line.  I mean she walked RIGHT OUT IN FRONT of a moving vehicle.  We don't have safety things like that happen with the students, it's the parents!

I see it in church.  Do you not see that family of five searching for a group of seats together?  Don't you think you should scoot down ONE SEAT so that everyone can fit?  I've actually tapped someone on the shoulder before and asked if they'd mind scooting down one (or two) to accommodate more worshippers.  It's church people!!  Crazy.

Don't get me started on the grocery store shoppers who walk right in front of me and stand there looking through the brownie mixes.  Excuse me, did you see me standing right here?  And you chose to step in front of me?

I often wonder if I do dingbat things like these.  Do I notice?  Do I pay attention?  As a detailed oriented person I think I do.  I'll have to pay attention to myself to see if I pay attention!