The porch

I have two children. When both were very small we lived in a house with a lot of stairs. There were stairs that went up and stairs that went down and sometimes they switched. The up stairs became the down stairs and the down stairs became the up stairs. The inside of the house had four levels. On the top floor were three bedrooms. On the next level was a front room, kitchen and dining room. The next floor was a large family room that was shaped like the letter L, a bathroom that was also the laundry room which was also the way to get to the garage. The basement stairs landed in a small room and on the sides of this were a storage room, a bedroom and the utility closet with the, heater, water heater and a water softener that we did not use. Stairs were a natural part of our daily life. Up the stairs to get a drink. Down the stairs to watch TV. Down the stairs to get to the computer. Up the stairs to go to bed. The Porch leading out the front door had stairs that led to the front yard and the front yard sloped down to the road. The day started as any other spring Sunday with sun shining through the windows. The beauty of the trees and yard the greenest it will be before summer comes. The birds chirping in the trees and on the power lines in front of the house. Inside the battle raged. Getting a two and a half year old and a six month old ready for church is war. Did they eat enough before getting their cloths on? Are their diapers changed? Yes but one needs changing again. Pull up the pants and put the clip on tie under the collar. Don't pull the tie off. Put tie back on. Get tights up over the padding of the diaper. Put a cute bow in the hair. Don't pull bow off hair. Put bow back on. Then because it was such a nice day we are going to walk to church. The church is only a few blocks away. We have the stroller ready for two and a half year old and I will carry six month old. We get to the door, open it and promptly realize we forgot something. Snacks. I retrieve the snacks put them in the diaper bag and open the front door. Approaching the stairs I take the first step and trip. I have six month old in my arms. What am I going to do? Slow motion fall, I spin in mid air, go over the railing and land flat on my back. the wind was knocked out of me, I struggle to breathe and try to make sure six month old is OK. Six month old loved the ride.