Just Sit Awhile
F A L L I N G
I fall so much because of my balance and so many people make comments about how I just get right back every time. But I don't think they understand falling from my perspective as a person with disabilities. Let me explain what happens in public places.
I'm walking around and I lose my balance, I fall. At least one person runs up to me all worried and asks if I'm okay. Another person makes unnecessary noises, like gasping. The gasp makes more people look and they come to see if I'm okay or if I need help. By that time the people near me know that I'm fine. I get up and I look around and see many people looking at me, it's honestly embarrassing.
But I don't always "get right back up" after falling. On a bad day I can fall or almost fall probably close to ten times. On those days or even weeks, around the fourth or fifth fall, I don't feel like getting up right away. I just sit there, breathe, and give myself a pep talk. Sometimes I sit there and let myself be mad about falling for a few minutes before I get up. Falling is probably one of the most embarrassing things that a person with and without a disability does. But the only reason it's embarrassing is because we make it that way. Really, there's no one on earth who hasn't fallen at some point in their lives. No offense to the people who get worried when other people fall. That's really nice and I appreciate it, just don't make it a big deal.
I'm writing this because I recently face planted. I'm not kidding I actually fell flat on my face. Usually I protect my face but for some reason I didn't. I was around people who knew me and have seen me fall a lot, but it was one of those days where I just needed a minute to just sit. I realized that people don't know that sometimes you just need a minute on the floor.
Fun fact: if you look up "falling quotes" on Pinterest, the only quotes you'll find are about falling in love. Pretty sure that's not the same thing as just falling...
I fall so much because of my balance and so many people make comments about how I just get right back every time. But I don't think they understand falling from my perspective as a person with disabilities. Let me explain what happens in public places.
I'm walking around and I lose my balance, I fall. At least one person runs up to me all worried and asks if I'm okay. Another person makes unnecessary noises, like gasping. The gasp makes more people look and they come to see if I'm okay or if I need help. By that time the people near me know that I'm fine. I get up and I look around and see many people looking at me, it's honestly embarrassing.
But I don't always "get right back up" after falling. On a bad day I can fall or almost fall probably close to ten times. On those days or even weeks, around the fourth or fifth fall, I don't feel like getting up right away. I just sit there, breathe, and give myself a pep talk. Sometimes I sit there and let myself be mad about falling for a few minutes before I get up. Falling is probably one of the most embarrassing things that a person with and without a disability does. But the only reason it's embarrassing is because we make it that way. Really, there's no one on earth who hasn't fallen at some point in their lives. No offense to the people who get worried when other people fall. That's really nice and I appreciate it, just don't make it a big deal.
I'm writing this because I recently face planted. I'm not kidding I actually fell flat on my face. Usually I protect my face but for some reason I didn't. I was around people who knew me and have seen me fall a lot, but it was one of those days where I just needed a minute to just sit. I realized that people don't know that sometimes you just need a minute on the floor.
Fun fact: if you look up "falling quotes" on Pinterest, the only quotes you'll find are about falling in love. Pretty sure that's not the same thing as just falling...
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