-I have no handicap sticker
-I have no walking aid (cane, crutches, or wheelchair)
--The arm of my husband might count, but then again, it doesn't when he has to drop me off at the front of the store, and then go park, and THEN make his way back to the front of the store. By this time, I am already being looked at like I have some sort of disease. Makes you want to slap some people, if Jesus weren't looking. (yes, I said that. c'mon, you wish you could too, sometimes, don't you?)
So as I stand there aimlessly, and occupying-ly (sometimes, I make up my own words) "browsing" my phone so I don't have to face the stares of the ignorant or the just plain rude, or the kiddos who wonder what the heck happened to this adults feet. {my daughter says I have rocks in my feet, and that they are broken. =/ }
Then, walks in my knight and shining armor. {insert hallelujah chorus} Me not being brave enough (or really, me not NOT caring what other people think), I allow him to go and kindly ask for a wheelchair of some sort. He wheels my aid to my side, and I confusingly sit down (not every wheel chair is the same). And then we're off!
Up and down the aisles we go! At Hobby Lobby, where we'll stop, nobody knows!
{yes, I was slightly drugged}
{she wanted to pose by these gorgeous whatever they are... lol}
{this is how we scooter-ed along most of the way...}
ahem.
So Hobby Lobby was fun, and we got minimal goodies needed for a work project, and we were off!
{waiting for prince charming}
To Target... where they have electronic wheelchairs. Meaning, I wouldn't be pushed around by my knight in shining armor. It meant, I had to come to my own rescue, and figure out how to work this machine. Hmm...not pretty...
I bumped that thing so many times, I lost count. And one time, I even bumped my own head in the process. Don't ask.
{Bump 1}
{Bump 2. This is where I hit my head. again, don't ask}
I will admit, this time it was harder, and I am so thankful we went just as they were about to close, because I have no clue how people manage to maneuver this thing when there are swarms of people. Especially those who are crowding the aisle, and see that you need to get through, yet completely ignore you and your hanicap-ness. I just want to shout, "I'm not that handicap sticker abuser you curse in store parking lots!!" It was a mess. All I wanted was colored highlighters, and all that lady wanted to do was dig for hours through the same colored folders over and over again.
Well, I finally got my colored highlighters, and I made my way not through the aisle, but around the aisle, and 2 others that were also blocked by early school shopping mothers. And in case you're wondering, yes, I bumped into things along the way.
So, I made my way out only to find myself at yet another
ahh! My Knight and Shining Armor (he gets capital letters here for a reason) comes dashing so handsomely down the aisle! (no, really, he was dashing in an effort to get to the other side of the store to grab some batteries before the electronic section closed). He was like Jesus parting the red sea! He parted the aisle (the lady and her basket), and paved a nice little pathway for me. (and here's where he loses the capital letters) Before I could thank my handsome prince, he's off back to the other end of the store. He leaves me, to be, wondering aimlessly and bitterly through the home decor section, where I run into yet another
Comes time to check out. I see an empty lane open, but its at the front register, and I was, of course, at the back. I make my way around the other register, and the hippo of a wheelchair didn't fit through, and got stuck! So, some lady and her kids beat me to it. ARGH! Then.... just then... a sweet girl sees my "disability", and makes her way through to the closed register located oh so thankfully right in front me. She laughed with me (not at me), and we paid, and I was off... to park that thing right back where I found it. I didn't even have Jr get the car to pick me up, I just wanted to get out of there, and so I walked, very painfully, all the way back to the car. (prideful, much? sure, why not?)
Today is Tuesday, and that has been my last outing, and will probably be my last outing until further notice.
All in all, despite my ongoing complaints, that experience really did humble me. And it reminded me of a forever ago episode of Tyra, where she dresses up as "fat person", and makes her way down the streets of New York City. She received so much hate and so much ridicule a long the way, that it drove her to tears (not that that takes much, but you know what I mean). She set out on her "fat person" adventure to make a point; how society can be so mean, cruel, and just plain ugly. I felt like Tyra that night as I slowly made my way around Hobby Lobby and Target. I wanted to crawl in the basket of that wheelchair and cry like a big fat baby.
I commend those... and who's to say who "those" are? Nowadays, people (you and I included) stare at everything they stick their nose up at. Why? What makes you, me, her, him so much better? What makes you higher than authority to point out your ugly finger and point and then laugh? We're equally alike, and we're all equally unique. Nobody is better than anybody, right? God made us in His image; not yours or mine. So yeah, next time, there's a handicap mama cruising down your aisle, either kindly get out of the way, or heck, even offer to get something down from the shelf. =D
Be kind.
Be love.
{by the end of the week. lol}
Stayed tuned tomorrow for my 3 week check-up! Weehoo! 3 weeks already?? Yeah, it feels longer. ha!
Faith, Love, and Wheelchairs,
Casey
No comments:
Post a Comment