For many a Sunday afternoon on the sidelines of their
child’s soccer game is ordinary.
Not for this chick…
I sat there looking around at the remarkably blue sky, the
harbor in the distance and the sea of young boys running with all their
might. We were at the third field
back at the local soccer fields and there I was sitting with everyone
else. The best part was my son’s
face when he looked up and saw me sitting there; he beamed from ear to ear. He gave me a slight wave and kept on
with the game he loves so much. At
that moment everything was right in his world.
This moment was very normalizing. As I sat in my camping chair on the edge of the field, I
looked like all the other Moms there.
Those who did not know me had no idea I was dependent on a
wheelchair. What an amazing
feeling! The only way I can
explain it is as being surreal. It
was really as if the sky was bluer, the temperature was made to order and the
children’s laughs were crystal clear.
The experience gave me something of an electrical charge,
ready to take on more. Charged and
ready to go I began cleaning house, both literally and figuratively. Most significantly, I will fight to
clear out negative thoughts about my future and walking. I have proven to myself that nothing is
predetermined and the doctors were wrong about me so far. That is enough proof for me that they
cannot give me a reliable prognosis.
This brings me back to a familiar motto for recovery, one
day at a time. I plan to take each
day as it comes and see what I am able to get out of it. If I have a “bad day” I will attempt to
leave that in the past and try again with the gift of a new day. I realize this sounds like a lofty
goal, to stay in the day, but I am going to try!
Some of the significant steps required
pulling this off in the real world:
- Good appointment keeping
- A running To Do List
- Household management routines (i.e., bills, transcribing appointments, organization)
- Track what you accomplish (in case you need to reference later)
- A good support network!