Don't Just Lay There!!
I’m quite the tom-boy, and grew up on a farm with dirt and gravel trails. I would run and play on these trails everyday trying to avoid the many bumps, dips, sticks, and stones in the way. It’s even where I learned to ride a bike. To make sure I didn’t get hurt, my parent’s always watched me ride.
One day while riding, both my parents went to fetch something. Any other day, I wouldn’t have noticed they were gone. Except, that day I hit a particularly large bump and landed face first in the dirt.
While this was long ago, I remember it hurt. A lot. I could feel my nose throb, my leg burn, my chin sting, and there was blood on my shirt. I also remember I cried. A lot. I cried for what seemed like forever, and the more I cried, the more I hurt.
Days seemed to pass until my mom came to check on me. She saw me, rushed over, and picked me up. She took me in the house and cleaned my wounds to make me feel a little better.
After I finally quit crying, and I got some “magic ice cream,” my mother asked me how long I had been laying there crying.
“Forever,” I told her. “It really hurt.”
She looked at me said, “Yes, you were really hurt. But why did you just lay there?”
“I dunno,” I shrugged. And that was the truth, I didn’t know. That was the first time I had ever been really hurt and no one was there to help me. The thought never even crossed my mind that I should have gone to get help. After all, it wasn’t like my leg was broken, just scrapped up a bit.
She gave me that motherly, you’re-not-that-stupid-look, and said, “Well, next time you’re hurt and no one’s around, if you can, come get help. No point in waitin’ because there’s not always gonna be someone there to help ya. Sometimes, we have to help ourselves.”
I just looked at her with my sad puffy eyes, bruised face, and busted chin, “O.K. Mommy. I’ll try to do that next time.”
As I got older, there were many more falls, scrapes, bruises, and only one broken toe. But ever since that day I laid out in the yard, waiting for help, whenever I got hurt, I would just pick myself up. I never waited for anyone to come again -- even though, there were times where I probably should have.
Even now, if I fall, and I still fall a lot, or seem to get down on myself, I just sit and rub the scar on the bottom of my chin and remember that day. I remember that there may not always be people around to help, so you have to be able to find ways to make everything better by yourself. Or at least, go call your mom for a little advice.
© 2009 Caypay
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