My Most Embarrassing Motherhood Moment

Motherhood has been the biggest blessing of my life. It has been filled with many rewards and challenges. Along the way, there have also been many embarrassing moments for me as well. Of the many over-the-head motherhood moments of my life, one incident stands out in particular.

A few years ago, I was walking from the parking lot with my two daughters, rushing them as usual, toward the Wal-Mart entrance because we were in a hurry...again. All along the way, I lectured...I mean, gave motherly advice to the girls, telling them to pick up their pace, to be careful, to watch out for the cars, and to watch their steps as we hurried along. Upon coming to the glass sliding door entrance, all I remember was stepping, unexpectedly, into a planter area that was about two inches deep and built into the sidewalk in front of the store. As I stepped into the planter, my left foot caught the edge of the sidewalk instead of the top of it as I tried to return it back to stability. This caused me to lose my balance and fall to the ground, hands and knees first.

An older couple coming out of Wal-Mart just stared at me as they slowly walked by with their bags, probably thinking to themselves, "What an idiot." I sensed other people staring as they passed by as well, but I didn't see them in that blurred clumsy motherhood moment of mine. In slow motion, I felt the wave of heat beginning to encompass my entire body. I jumped to my feet, of course, not wanting to prolong my embarrassment as my daughter's were speechless for once in their lives...but for just a few seconds. I dusted off my hands and my dirt-covered knee caps as the girls asked if I was okay. Yes, I was, but my face was beet red and my spirits were bruised.

Of course, I tried to use my parenting skills to turn this into a teaching opportunity by saying, "Girls, this is why we need to look where we're going..." "Okay, mommy." They answered fighting off their chuckles.

For several weeks afterward, I had to endure the retelling of the hilarious story of how I fell in front of Wal-Mart repeated to anyone who would listen by two uncompassionate girls who saw their mommy literally fall head over heels and make a fool of herself while lecturing them. Oh well, at least I can multi-task, right?