Serene's Spectacular Splat

So my daughter is a runner. Especially when she's dead tired and stuck at church. She gets so hyper that she just sprints away from whomever is watching her, giggling and shrieking the whole time. Last Sunday she rediscovered the stage at the back of the cultural hall. (She first discovered it when she went to see Santa and get a jingle bell.) She had a grand ol' time running around the stage, in and out of the curtains lining the wings, running through the curtains lining those wings, not caring where she was going and having a blast that she could run right through a curtain until it finally pulled off her head and she could see again. Necessary background info here.

Later, when church was almost over and I was sick of chasing Serene up and down the hallways (and trying to keep her off the stairs that led from the hall to the stage), I let Serene run around crazy in the cultural hall with about four other little ones Serene's age whose parents had also given up trying to corral their kids. The toddlers all had fun running in circles and such. And then Serene made a dash for the other side of the hall . . . where there was another set of stairs leading up to the stage. I sighed, resigned to having to go chase her yet again, and crossed the hall to the stairs. As I started up, I heard one of the dads behind me say, "She's clear on the other side of the stage!" I ran up the stairs and found my little one laughing and smiling at me from beside a black curtain in the wings. As I started across the stage, Serene shrieked with a grin, turned, and started running right at -- and through -- a deep maroon curtain. That lined the front of the stage. So picture, if you will, a little toddler with the biggest grin, shrieking her head off as she laughs and runs into the curtain and can't see a single thing as she keeps running and waiting for the curtain to eventually slide off her head . . . as she runs right off the edge of the stage and splats on the floor below! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! Okay, that last was MY reaction. I tried to reach her in time, but nope. I DID make record time crossing the stage and jumping down, though. In a dress. The floor was carpeted, kind of, at least it wasn't hard tile she fell on. And the dads who witnessed her spectacular fall said that she landed spread-eagle all-together, so at least she didn't just fall on her head. But oh, her poor little face was red for the longest time. And I don't think she stopped crying for at least 20 minutes. Poor thing. She's all right now and I can laugh at the video this would have made. But then all I could do was try not to burst out crying as I sat holding my baby and shaking like crazy. =) And I thought I felt bad when 2-month-old Marina fell off the changing table. Thank Heaven for babies made of rubber!!