Angels Among Us

Oh where to begin this post...Well, let's begin at the beginning. About 3 years ago I had my baby in the bjorn and a "wise" stranger gave his two cents about bjorns being baby killers in the event the wearer were to bite the dust. Good point, but couldn't this happen if you were holding the baby as well? And doesn't EVERYBODY wear some sort of baby carrier?

I know...I know...I am seeing you read this and already bracing yourself...don't worry. Fast forward 3 years to today. It is "Bring your Daughter to Work Day" and I have this great idea to NOT bring my daughters to work, but to let them spend a few hours with Dad at HIS work. (Turns out they were the most stressful two hours he has EVER had at work..hee hee hee). I go to an audition, which seems fun and exciting because I haven't been on one in about 13 days. It is probably one of the most gorgeous NYC days EVER. It is about 70 degrees and clear skies. My AWESOME new white pants and white platform espadrilles from Old Navy are making their debut as well as my new peanut shell (thanks for all the good advice girls). The three of us (two kids and me) are attracting a lot of attention, because we look cute and everyone is in a good mood because of the weather.

So we take our sweet time getting home from the Daddy/Daughter Work Day...stop for a hot dog, walk 2 of the 4 blocks, and then hop on the bus. We arrive at our destination and I step off the step of the bus right into a gaping hole in the sidewalk, about 6 inches deep (if my kids were not tucked in bed, I might run out and go take a photo of it), but trust me it was deep. I have the baby in the carrier so I can't see my feet, just feeling for it. The fall happens so quickly, and yet so many things happen in between realizing I am falling and completing the fall. Let me just first say that I fall A LOT and I have really good luck. I am part feline, (which is ironic because I hate cats), and this helps me in my falling and mothering skills...I land on my feet (figuratively) and I can be a TIGER.

So the fall begins and my immediate instinct is to protect the baby (a quick second instinct was to protect my new white pants, but that sure as H-E-double hockeysticks wasn't going to happen), so somehow I am falling forward out of the bus and spin my right shoulder around so that I land flat on my back, only two hands were holding my head so that it didn't hit the sidewalk. And I am tearing up writing this right now because I don't remember seeing anyone behind me when I made it to my feet, but I could remember two hands like the most comfortable pillow, holding me. And I know it was an angel. I cannot stop my tears right now as I write this, because the feeling was so strong and so comforting. And the people who stopped and gathered around were just looking at me and I was able to say with complete confidence: "We're alright, nobody is hurt." And evern though the fall happened right in front of this restaurant with about 10 Middle-Eastern men in it, not even my pride was hurt because of the piercing of the hands running through my soul.

I got home and to my amazement my white pants had a teeny tiny brushing of dirt that my camera can't even pick up. But I did scrape the top of my left foot, and I think that was the pivot point for my fall. So I have learned a few lessons: The guy on the subway platform a few years back had a good point about the dangers of baby carriers, as another "wise" woman who witnessed the fall quickly told me right after it happened: "Last year I saw a guy fall and his babie's head hit the cement (internal dialogue in my head: cement is glue, you mean concrete), and his head cracked open and was bleeding (thanks lady, I think I am shaken up enough right now--goodbye)...". Secondly, when wearing the baby carrier, it's probably not the best idea to where platform shoes of any kind. Third, be sure you see the ground before placing your feet there. And finally, and I think most importantly...there are angels among us.