A few weeks ago I fell in my house off the step on my landing, that I walk down everyday. It’s one step and the fall was worse on my ego than it was on my knees. The witness to this fall was my eldest son S. S decided to react to this in the same way his father would have had he been there and that is by bursting out laughing.

Now after 10 years of marriage I have come to realize that this is my husbands reaction to anyone falling and not just me. In fact not only my husbands but his brothers as far as I have seen. They always rush immediately to help and make sure you are ok but they do it through streams of tears from all the laughing. (when I read this to my husband he said “طيحه عن طيحه” meaning not every fall is the same. He explained that when someone slips and falls flat on his behind then it’s funny. When you can hear bones cracking or see limbs twisting in ways they shouldn’t it’s not funny. I thought it was important to add this clarification).

So yes, it’s acceptable for my husband to do it but I’m not ok with my son laughing at me. I gave him a proper telling off and his face went red and he stared, ashamed, at his feet and apologised.

That night I told my husband the story and he of course laughed at the mental image of my spilling down that step which sent me on a rant about how I was really upset S laughed and how it was so disrespectful and mean and he never asked if I was ok. Blahdi Blah Blah.

The next day, (I mean the exact next day, not a week later or even 24 hours later) my husband, 2 eldest children and I went out to lunch. As we were walking to the restaurant door there was a step just outside it which yours truly decided she can float down because gravity doesn’t affect her like that you know- I ended up on my knees in the street outside the restaurant Abaya and all.

S immediately looked down at his feet and went silent. M’s face was red with the effort of keeping the threatening eruption of laughter at bay. J my poor baby was on the floor trying to help me up and dusting off my knees and asking if I was ok. She was genuinely worried I was hurt. All I kep thinking was “If you don’t want them to keep laughing at you then stop bloody falling over you twit!”.I got up and J was holding my hand so I don’t fall again (heart breaking).

As we walked into the restaurant M saw a friend of his and went over to say hello while S, J and I continued to our table. Even after we sat down J kept asking if I was ok and if my knees hurt (heart swelling) and S couldn’t meet my eye.

M walked back to the table, sat down and burst out laughing. It was uncontrollable. I smiled and chuckled a bit (what a good sport I am… yep) but it just kept going! J said “Baba! Are you laughing at mama?” She was furious (برافو عليك حبيبة قلبي That’s my girl!). M: “Nooooooo, Of course not -more laughter- I’m laughing at something my friend said”. J didn’t buy it. S was utterly confused about how to act and I spent the rest of lunch picking up the shattered pieces of my prestige.