I am Not Superwoman

Scanned photo from June 2003 (I think)
of Meredith and my sister Cori in their Supergirl shirts

I am not Superwoman or Wonder Woman no matter how hard I may try to be.

This morning I'd rather be going to yoga, but instead I'm nursing an injury.  Yesterday evening I was working late, answering email, and meeting with an advisee. (It's registration time at the college.  Can be a challenge fitting in advising appointments but I do so enjoy meeting with my advisees, seeing how they're doing, and helping them make plans for their futures.)  As I was leaving I was hungry, tired, and ready to go home.  I grabbed the following items: a camcorder with its accessories in a bag, a laptop with its accessories in a bag, another bag with stuff for my internship class, my school bag heavy with my intentions for working at home, and my purse (a mother's handbag with everything but the kitchen sink).  Don't know why I do it but I often load myself down like a pack mule.  Why oh why, don't I make two trips?

Can you guess what's coming next?  I was probably in a daze and in a hurry.  I got about 4 or 5 steps from the bottom, right about the place where I always have to duck my head as I am tall and could get knocked out by some kind of overhang, and I lost my footing.  So surreal.  My life may have even flashed before my eyes.  I landed face down at the bottom of the stairs on top of and surrounded by all those bags. 

My thoughts in about chronological order: OMG!  What just happened?  Oh no, did I break anything?  I can't believe I did this again.  Owww, I hurt.  Kinda glad no one's here to see this.  @#%*!  Look what I did.

I look to my right and see that I have broken a stool given to the faculty as a class gift from a master's class several years ago.  Oh @#%*!  I think that stool is made out of concrete or some such material and I have literally broken it in half.  The somewhat ironic thing is that all those bags and that stool must have broken my fall so I am happy to report I don't think I broke any bones, but I am very sore.

I will not call myself a klutz.  Doing so could be a self-fulling prophecy.  I have in the past, though, twisted both ankles and I think one of them at least twice, and broke one of my feet.  And almost every time it was due to stairs.  Some combination of being in a hurry, not watching what I'm doing (but who really does when they're going down stairs?), having big size 10 feet, going down narrow stairs, and having extra long legs compared to the rest of my body which may result in some strange center of gravity thing.

An hour earlier I was teaching my undergraduate Therapeutic Play class.  Organically, we were discussing the topic of how our own issues or whatever is on our mind can get in the way of not being able to focus on the child and give the child our full attention during our play sessions.  Perhaps I should have been paying more attention to my own words.

Each time I injure myself or get sick I realize I am not Superwoman.  No matter how hard I might try to be.  I will never live up to all the expectations I put on myself, that our culture puts on women.  I won't get everything done.  Something's inevitably gonna fall by the wayside (no pun intended).  Either that or I must learn to say No to more things.  I must slow down.  Exercise more patience.  Be kind to myself.

Incidentally, I remember loving to play Wonder Woman as a child.  I'd wrap my head in a big towel and stand on top of a round ottoman.  I'd jump down and twirl my head releasing my pretend long, curly hair and feel so invincible!  Hmmm.... I wonder if I ever fell off that ottoman?

I may not be Superwoman or Wonder Woman, but I sure think I can still be a Supergirl!