I'm falling. I'm falling. I'm falling for one I love.

I fell.  Again.  Now I understand why people make such a big deal about falling.  I figured ah heck, scabbing up my knees and elbows, I can deal with that.  But falling on my face for the first time has convinced me that falling is to be avoided at all costs.

However, it's not as bad as it looks in this picture.  I stayed downstairs in the lobby today, to watch the costumes walk by from the Bay to Breakers run.  BossLady told me about the aloe vera plants in the courtyard, so I kept using it on the bloody gash.

I should start at the beginning, huh.

Saturday night, I went out into our courtyard at 10:30pm to throw the ball for Annie for a few minutes.  She's been cooped up since my Fatigue Bout, plus she needed to pee and poo.  (Which is not allowed on the property.)  As I walked along the perfect sidewalk, well lit by people's porch lights, down I went.  On my way down, I worried about my dentures.  Then after I hit, my brain.  I saw stars.  I don't remember falling on my head before, but I won't forget this one.  I hit knees, (already scabbed from previous falls), elbows, the heels of my hands and my head.  Hard.  And then I couldn't get up, because my bones had turned into some sort of limp, useless things that I was ashamed to call my own.

At first, Annie was all, oh goody, we're playing on the ground.  Then when she realized I wouldn't throw the ball anymore, and then I wasn't using her to get up like I usually do, and she heard someone slide their windows shut (about 20 apartments view the courtyard), she put the ball down and stuck her entire body along mine.  Because I was on cement and my knees are already tender, I couldn't crawl over to the bench about 20 feet away without some severe pain.  So I bundled up my shawl and stuck it under one knee at a time for a few crawling "steps".  Annie kept getting in front of me, and finally, I was strong enough to get myself up with her help.  Then I was nauseous.  I sat on the bench for a few minutes.  I finally walked back to my studio, and the clock said 11:30pm.  Since I had thrown the ball for Annie only a few times, I was down on the ground for quite a while!

Then I called my sister, 12:30am, her time, cause I was afraid to look at my face by myself!  And whether I would need stitches.  And using Peroxide = I would need moral support!  She calmed me down while I cleaned the blood off my face and determined whether I was dingy or not.

So yesterday, after applying many layers of aloe vera, without a mirror, as I was watching the Bay to Breakers costumes walk by, several people would comment on how it was starting to bruise.  I thought to myself, "Well, the doctor will sure believe me when I see her on Tuesday".

But when I went home and showered, it all washed off!  The brown stuff was the aloe vera.  I walked into the shower looking like a bad-ass dude ette, and walked out of the shower looking like a wimp.  Who knew?
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