« Learning at the Door | Main | What To Do Today? »
September 09, 2007
Disabled? I Don't Think So
I'm a social person. I generally like people and I like to know a bit about them, so it was no surprise a few weeks ago when, while stopping at a garage sale, I ran into someone I knew. We chatted about a variety of things when a lady from next door joined us. My friend knew her and after some brief introductions we began talking about things we had in common. One topic was children, the second was special education.
The mom who had joined us had a special needs child. I have spent years working with children, teachers, aides and other folks who all have connections to the world of special needs. We exchanged telephone numbers. The lady called the other day. Unfortunately I missed the number from the message she left so today my friend and I went to see if we could find her. We did.
I have yet to meet her son, but after seeing his play room, I'm anxious to get to know him. It's a challenge to be a parent under any circumstances. I love my children, but I certainly didn't always have the best and only answer for each of my four. There were times I was left wondering if I couldn't have been more patient or pushed a bit harder. I've had a few health challenges with my kids, but nothing like deal with a severely handicapping condition every day. It takes a great deal more of everything we have in us to make it work.
After musing on that experience, later in the day I had another. A couple weeks ago while driving through Marysville on my way to Sacramento, I saw two people on the side of the road. They were both scooting along in electric wheelchairs. Each chair had two waving American flags stuck in the back. You couldn't miss these two as you drove by.
Today while stopping for a hamburger in Marysville, I got up to wash my hands. Around the corner from our table were two people in electric wheelchairs with flags attached to the back of them. They couldn't be anyone else. The gentleman had already moved away from the table, but I was almost standing in front of the woman. I told her that I had seen them a couple weeks before and was very impressed with their outing.
When I got back to the table my friend Bob had engaged them in a conversation and I sat down to learn more. They were both involved in a day-care facility that got people out and about. The facility served breakfast and lunch and they'd just had a picnic over by the lake the week before. We admired their mobility, and the woman told me how grateful she was to the doctor who had helped them both get the chairs.
As I watched them leave and then whiz across the street, I was once again amazed at the resiliency we can muster when we need to. Both the Mom I'd met earlier in the day and this couple were not about to let someone else's view of disability or adversity get them down. They were taking life on and making it something worthwhile.
I talk about learning all the time. These folks were teaching in the very real since of the word, how the rest of us might view "disabilities." They certainly showed me how to do it!
Posted by Dr Joni at September 9, 2007 06:27 PM