Scared and Helpless

My mom fell from the stainless steel stool and I watched it happen. She landed on her back and grimaced in pain as tears flowed from her eyes.

My six-year-old nephew Andrew was playing with my sister while I was talking to Mom about the details of my parole hearing. My sister was holding Andrew's fingers and they were pulling each other. Andrew pushed Sis and she started falling sideways and hit my Mom. Mom lost her balance because she was concentrating on what I was saying. I watched Mom fall and did nothing.

I rushed over to check to see if she was hurt. Mom tried to get up but she couldn't. I asked her to sit up and wait awhile. Then I helped her get off the ground. Mom wiped the tears from her eyes and said that she was all right. She said she was scared that she might have hurt her tailbone. I asked her to stand up to make sure that she wasn't hurt, but she seemed all right.

After Mom fell on the ground I was scared that she might have broken a bone. I wish I couldn't have run over to catch her fall. I felt so helpless as she was falling. It seemed like she was falling in slow motion. I just couldn't do anything. I don't like feeling helpless.

My parents, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew came to visit me. They're happy that I'm one step closer to uniting with the family. It felt good to be in the presence of family.

I'm relaxed that Mom wasn't hurt.