Category Archives: Venting

Adjusting…eventually

This weekend, Rob, Scarlett and I went car shopping. Well, to be more specific, we went wheelchair van shopping. Little less sexy, right? There are a few places in the Bay Area that specialize in vans, and we went to one in Burlingame called Mobility Works. On the weekends, they are only open by appointment, which meant we had the whole place to ourselves with a knowledgeable sales guy named Mike.

Mike showed us new and used vans from Toyota, Honda, and Dodge. It works like this: you add a 25K conversion fee to the MSRP of one of these vans. Any add-ons (leather seats, sunroof, navigation, anxiety medication) cost extra. It gets expensive. Used vans can be a good option, provided you can find one that has all of your requirements. For us, the top three are: Read More>

|Categories: Life, Progression, Venting | Tags: , , , | Permalink

Life and the Weather

Scarlett started her third and final year of preschool last week. Rob and I both brought her to the first day, like we have done every year, and took pictures in front of the building. What could provide a starker realization of how much my illness has changed our lives than images of my daughter growing up each year, while I become more disabled?

The first year, when she was two, I drove her to school and walked her into class, wearing flats to avoid tripping, but without any real difficulty. The next year, she was three, getting so much taller and talking all the time. I pushed a walker into the classroom, watched her play, and kissed her goodbye.

This year, I was the mom in the wheelchair. Read More>

|Categories: Life, Meditation, Parenting, Progression, Relationships, Venting | Tags: | Permalink

Road Trip

Our drive to Lake Tahoe last week started off well enough. We had snacks. Traffic was decent. Scarlett even fell asleep, and, once we wrestled her out of the bike helmet she had insisted on wearing, she seemed fairly comfortable. Until she woke up an hour later, screaming, “I’M TOO HOT!”

The AC was on and we were doing 80 on the freeway—Rob considers speed limits a suggestion—so her request that we roll the windows down “RIGHT NOW!” was denied. Plus it was 100 degrees outside. We explained to her that she might feel better if she took her shoes off, and we aimed several vents in her direction. She was not remotely pacified, and she handled it like a frustrated four-year-old, kicking and throwing things. Very unsafe behavior for highway driving. By the time we were able to pull off the road and into a gas station, Rob was furious. He pulled her out of the car and set her down on the ground, where she took off all of her clothes, and continued throwing a fit. Read More>

|Categories: Life, Parenting, Relationships, Vanity, Venting | Tags: , , , , | Permalink