Matching skinned knees

Lately Tempe has been falling down and skinning her knees a lot. Partly because she is learning how to run and partly because she is wearing shorts for the first time in her life, so her knees are a lot more exposed than they used to be. The result is she has perpetually scraped knees--just another reminder that we have a toddler now!

I have been sort of brushing off her scraped knees, thinking that she is overreacting and it can't possibly be that bad. As grownups, I think we forget how much it really hurts to fall down and scrape yourself! I got a reminder a few days ago.

I was riding my bike to Wal-Mart (with Tempe in the bike trailer) and as I turned into the driveway of a parking lot, I totally wiped out. I didn't turn hard enough and so the bike sort of slid against the curb and then dumped me. Ow!! It really hurt! I have scrapes on my palms, elbows, knees, and ankles, and one knee has a really spectacular bruise on it. The next day I was so sore I could barely pull my shirt over my head or walk up and down the stairs! So I began to empathize more with Tempe about falling down.

But the worst part was how scary it was to fall with the bike trailer. The trailer is very, very stable, so it didn't turn over, but it and the bike slid a few feet after I fell before I grabbed it. Luckily we were in a parking lot--but what if we had been in the street?? Now I am too scared to ride in the street. I rode the rest of the way on sidewalks, but I really don't think I am supposed to ride on the sidewalk. Maybe I will have to limit riding with the trailer to bike paths and neighborhoods.

I'm just so grateful that we were ok and nothing happened. After I fell, I got right back up and we kept going (yeah, it was embarrassing, if anyone is wondering) and it took a few minutes for it to sink in... for me to realize what could have happened if we had been in the street. We were so lucky!