Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!

So yesterday, I made a complete fool of myself at my Brother- and Sister-in-Law’s house. We’d just arrived there for our annual early Christmas feast and present unwrapping frenzy. I was carrying Greta in my arms into the house. As I walked across their beautifully finished hardwood floor toward the rug in the living room, my ankle went out and I went down like a stone sinking to the bottom of a stream! (Although...that description makes me sound like I fell gracefully, which is not the case at all! I’m sure anyone watching would have thought, “Gosh – what a klutz!”) I was upset because I was afraid I might have injured Greta; I didn’t know how I’d fallen and if I’d fallen on her. She, thankfully, was wearing her adorable, red velvet Christmas dress (...thanks, Aaron...), and her heavy blue parka, and her little pink fleece hat so she was pretty well padded. Plus, I was able to cradle her in my arms as I went down; Mother’s instinct, I guess. She cried because it scared her, but was otherwise unhurt. Poor Jamie. I yelled at him when he came in and said, "What happened!?" I thought it had to be plainly obvious what had happened and was angry with him for not figuring it out and coming to my rescue. I am sure now, that I reacted badly to his question. I'm sure, also, that I snapped at a couple other people who were only trying to help. So if you are one of those people, and you were there when it happened - I'm sorry for my behavior. I think, though, that I was just scared and upset and not thinking of how I was reacting. This is the second time I’ve fallen while carrying Greta. The first time happened during the summer. I'd had an emotional outburst and Jamie kindly told me to get out and walk it off. I had the baby in the Snugli, facing out so she could see where we were going, and I trudged up the hill for a while, and then trudged back down the hill toward home. When I was less than 100 yards away from the house, it happened. My left ankle went out, my right ankle followed suit, and as I went down, I twisted my right knee and then smacked it pretty hard when I hit the pavement. This is almost exactly what happened last night. Now, though I don’t really have any bruises to show for it, I’m suffering with two sore, weak ankles, and one very painful knee. Why is it, that when I fall hard like that and truly hurt myself, that I don’t have any bruises or visible injuries to show for it? Consequently, why, when I just bump myself or some other minor thing, do I get huge bruises and look like someone just tried to kill me? I don’t get that. TTFN JMS A few "Charlie-isms" to share from our recent Christmas experience:

"I love all this stuff!"

"I'm so excited!"

"Daddy - it needs batteries."