Walk Like You Need a Ride

Everyone always says that when you are a kid you will fall. You probably will fall learning how to ride a bike or maybe if you are like my sister fall out of a tree once or twice. Luckily she didn't break anything and the tree was small and low to the ground. You might fall fall trying to roller skate for the first time or like me in the ice skating rink learning to ice skate. Or when you are a baby trying to take your first steps. Kids are expected to fall as they grow up but nobody tells you that you might have just as many or more falls when you progress into old age. I never really thought about it much when I was younger. I never really saw my grandmother fall at all.She did fall though when she got in her 80'she fell and broke her hip. But, my grandmother was determined to get back to her normal life and she worked hard in physical therapy and before you knew it she was back to her old self walking and almost running. She loved to walk and walked me a lot when I was younger. We walked everywhere together. If a place was in walking distance to her which was in a 5 mile radius we walked to it. I remember when I worked at the post office for the Christmas season when I was in my late 20's my grandmother insisted that I come to her house so that she could walk with me to the post office which was not far from her house. We did and she told me that she would meet me after work to walk back to her house. And we did. 

My mom was never much of a walker. If she could drive she would drive no matter the distance. The only times she walked is when she had to when we didn't have a car and she had no choice meaning she couldn't get a ride either. My sister and I had no choice we had to walk. Nobody was going to chauffeur us anyplace. We took the bus and walked where we had to go so we got used to that at a pretty early age. I used to be in better walking shape until I moved here and stuff happened but I can still walk that mile if I had to. 

So, over time when my mom got older and her health started changing for the worse she really became a homebody for the most part. She didn't do a lot of walking. Especially when we moved to this place with the steps. It might as well be ten million steps for my mom instead of the 17 or so that there actually is. When she was in better health she hated them. She is scared that she will fall either up or down the steps. She hasn't yet and hopefully won't but that fear is still there. 

I am going to do my best to keep walking and keep my legs and muscles strong and hopefully when I am in my 70's or 80 I will not fall or have the fear of falling.