Well, on Sunday, our chase came to a sudden, screeching halt. I was chasing Jesse into his room yelling, “I’m gonna get ya, you better run faster!” when I placed my foot down quickly, and with a great deal of force. I wasn’t quite sure what I stepped on, but it didn’t feel good. Pain shot all the way up my leg, into my shoulders and down the other side. I instantly fell to the floor, tears welling up in my eyes, and my son looks at me innocently and says, “See mommy, I won!” He’d made it to the bed safely without me catching him. I laughed half heartedly, but I couldn’t move. My foot was throbbing.
I snatched at the floor, where a shirt was lying, and underneath it lay a small, about the size of a medicine cup – toy. This small little unassuming thing was the cause of all my pain.
I inspected my foot only to find a small pin point of a bruise forming, and assumed it would stop throbbing fairly soon. We got up off the floor, my son helping me to my feet (with all his four year old strength). And we laughed a little about how silly it was that mommy got hurt from a toy. My son set immediately to picking up his room.
Later that evening, the bruise had grown to about the size of a quarter, and the foot was still throbbing. I laughed it off, figured it would go away. Monday I ran my errands as usual, took a trip to the doctor to follow up on my ear etc, but having my foot in a shoe was a true painful event. I couldn’t wait to get them off when I got home. I wish I hadn’t taken them off, I wish even more that I hadn’t looked at my foot. This is what waited for me:
Don’t worry, it’s just a bruise – but very painful indeed. Oh well. I’ve learned some things from this experience.
1) I’ll never steam full force blindly into any situation again. I’m going to educate myself on my surroundings, my opponents, and the job that needs to be done before I head full force into anything. Walking blindly into any situation can be a dangerous thing. Even with a client, I need to review their website, know something about their work, their needs – and know a little something about how I might be able to serve them before I rush head on into a conversation or a negotiation. It’s just good common sense. It can also keep me from getting hurt. (physically and metaphorically)
2) Sometimes “nothing” really is something. If I have a nagging sense that something else might be wrong, I will investigate it further. It doesn’t hurt to make that extra phone call and one more check in with a client just to be certain they are fulfilled in their needs. Sometimes something small (like my bruise) can grow into something much larger and harder to repair if we don’t catch it head on. If I had taken steps to elevate my foot and care for the injury – the bruise would not have settled and become as large and as painful. As it is with a client, if we keep moving forward as if nothing is wrong because we don’t take the time to find out – it can grow into something much larger and harder to repair.
3) It’s okay to cry and let out the frustration once in a while. It’s okay to let others know that you might be needing a little assistance. When my son realized that I had gotten hurt because his toys were not properly put away, he immediately went to the task of taking care of them, without being asked. Sometimes all we need to do is ask for a little help. Other people aren’t going to read our minds and know when we need assistance, we need to ask for it, and it is okay. We can become ill, overwhelmed, tired and frustrated. It’s normal. Asking for help when needed is not weakness, it’s wisdom. However, you don’t want to over play the sympathy card either, and some point it goes beyond assistance and approaches dependence.
4) No matter what, everything is a learning experience. We all make mistakes. I knew going in to that room that there was a possibility something on the floor would be stepped on or broken. However, I went in anyway. Sometimes we can be fully prepared for every situation, and still make a mistake. The important thing is what we take from it, and what we can teach others because of it.
So what do I know? Toys hurt. Mistakes get made. But in the end, I’ve learned something, I’m still going (although with a little assistance), and I’ve learned some valuable lessons. I’ve learned that the smallest things can sometimes make the biggest impact, and that’s worth the pain.
