I’m a klutz. That is really all there is to it. I trip over nothing, run into EVERYTHING and could hit my head on just about anything.
In my lifetime, I have fallen down the stairs exactly 3 times. The first time was by far the worst…however it was the least embarassing because I was alone. The second and third times I was not quite as lucky. The worst part about my last two falls…they were within WEEKS of each other. You would think I would learn.
You may ask, why is it that I am talking about falling down the stairs in my blog about school…well here is the kicker…I fell down the stairs AT SCHOOL!!! Now if you think falling down the stairs is embarassing…try doing it at school in front of other teachers or students. Try visiting the nurse after a tumble…talk about embarassing 
My first fall happened exactly 1 month ago. It was early one Monday morning. I had just gotten to school and had my hands full. Well instead of heading over to the elevator, like any sane person I decided to be a risk taker and balance my arm load and head down the stairs. Now, I am relatively coordinated…believe it or not…and my journey down the stairs would have been sucessful if not for the choice in wardrobe for the day. I was wearing dress slacks with a cuff and heels (hey, I have to do something to be taller than my 5th graders!) As I am carefully navigating down the stairs (holding the railing) my heel gets caught in the cuff of my pants…for a split second time freezes…I feel myself heading forward and there is no chance of stopping me. Thank goodness I was following my own rules of the stairs and holding the railing. Incredibly I bust out a twist move and end up on my behind 3 steps below with only a banged up knee and a bruised ego…as I lie there in complete shock and pain all I can think is “I HOPE NO ONE SAW ME” however I was not so lucky…I look up to see our computer teacher rushing toward me checking to see if I am okay…I let her know I am fine and that I am just slightly embarassed and cursing this day already. I hope up and head to my classroom limping a little when I run into another one of the teachers. I let her know what happened and what does she do? She tells me to sit down and she runs to get me an ice pack…so sweet of her right? NOT…she heads straight to the office and announces to everyone that I have fallen down the stairs…so as I am sitting in my classroom in walks the nurse with an ice pack and workman’s comp papers…the nurse is closely followed by our custodian, the principal and half the office staff. I am guessing they were part concerned part amused
So, after a few weeks of teasing from teachers, students and even a few parents things blew over. No one made jokes about the elevator or my extreme coordination. I was in essence free of the “klutz” label. That was all until the fateful day….it happened again.
It was a morning like any other…I arrived at school on a lovely Monday morning, stopped by the office, filled up my water, grabbed supplies I needed for the day and headed to my classroom. The supplies I had picked up in the office happend to be 8 1/2 by 12 inch construction paper, which was not heavy, but it blocked my view of my feet. Well I was aware of this and told myself to be careful on the stairs. I stopped at the top, grabbed the handle (rule follower) and headed down. Things were going great…until I hear “Hi Ms. Midwest!” I stop (because I cannot do two things at once) and turn around to greet the students who have just come in the building. As I turn around to keep going, I apparently forgot I was on the stairs and missed the very next step….down I went. Luckily I didn’t go flying down head first…I happened to fall straight to my knees and slide down 4 steps. When I finally got stopped I hear the kids behind me “Ms. Midwest!! Are you okay” Now it was extremely sweet that they would run to my aid…but instead of being grateful I turned around and pointed at them and in my meanest (okay I am not even close to mean) voice I said “DO NOT TELL ANYONE” Well of course with my reputation of being the meanest teacher at school they all begin to giggle and one of the kids even says “I’m going to tell my teacher right now” so then under my breath I say “I can’t believe I fell down the stairs again” well of course little Timmy hears me…and he is like “What?!? AGAIN?” Could this day get any worse?! So I hop up and the kids are quite impressed that I haven’t dropped anything or even spilled my water…heck who am I kidding…i’m pretty impressed myself. I start heading up the stairs and the kids ask me where I am going…
“To the nurse” I replied.
