Christmas

Thursday, June 25, 2015

A Day Out -- For Good and Bad

It always amazes me that we can go through horrific storms, and we come out on the other side with beautiful weather! The day before our wedding, we had a hurricane! My father was so concerned that he contacted his tailor to prepare coverings for us should it rain on our day. Not to worry, though, since the wedding day was cool, sunny, and not a cloud in the sky. What was bad, however, was the closing of so many roads. Many people couldn’t get to the church, so they went straight to the reception. Every time we have bad storms, I’m always reminded of that time!

Yesterday was gorgeous – warm, but not overwhelming; sunny but not blistering so; and just filled with gentle breezes. I knew my husband wanted to ride around to see what was left standing, and I just wanted to get out. I tend to ignore the fact that I’m eventually going to return where I must face those dreaded outside steps. However, we rode around, and I was amazed at how powerful that storm was. I heard on the news that in some areas, it was worse than Super Storm Sandy from a few years ago.

We saw massive trees that had been uprooted as if they were little dandelions. Debris lay all around, and many homes and lawns were littered with branches. It seemed almost surreal looking at how many areas were hit hard. It wasn’t a tornado, just straight line winds that wreaked such havoc. Many roads had shut down because of flooding and downed power lines. I felt extremely blessed, knowing that we had escaped with little harm.

As long as we were out, we stopped at the mall/promenade to pick up a few things. I stayed in the wheelchair so we could walk farther. My husband walked slowly, and he followed my hand signals when we needed to turn. I still hate being in that chair, but I pushed it aside so I could enjoy myself. After some time spent browsing and purchasing only what was necessary – ballet flats and shirts for me, and a tie for him. I also got a deal on scented liquid hand soaps for the powder room. Then it was time to load our packages and me into the car for a return trip. And that’s the part I hate.

All the way home, I kept dreading those steps, so I was already stressed when we got home. I just have so much trouble there, and I get so overwhelmed. I have to hold the railing with both hands, which means I’m turned sideways. I lift my left foot onto the first step, and then I swing the right foot up next to it. I repeat that for the next step, all the while straining to do so, and sometimes with my husband having to help ease my foot onto the step. When I reach the next area, I have to hold onto the door jamb and the opened interior door while I try to go over the threshold. I’m exhausted and overheated from the process, and I swear I’m never going through it again. I always do, though. My boys are in the process of brainstorming ways that a ramp could be constructed, but it’s a tricky approach.

So, my day out was filled with good and bad. Today is another gorgeous one, but I’m staying home.

Peace,
Muff


Here are some photos of the damaged areas.






5 comments:

  1. Your experience reminds me of the Social Security building I needed to visit as part of my "are you really really REALLY disabled?" nonsense... Yeah, you want to see the guy in a walker to see f he's disabled, and there's this nice flight of stairs you have to climb somehow... I guess if you're REALLY disabled, you can't get in to prove that you are, and if you do get in, you must not be.

    Oh those were the drive-yourself no-wheelchair days. Glorious days they were, stairs and all.

    You see why I always "find the funny" about my current situation. I mean, come on, the disability office that doesn't believe you're disabled which non-disabled people have a horrible time accessing. You gotta admit... That's funny.

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  2. We are not so far from you and we experienced nothing like that. We didn't even get much rain. It looks like such a powerful storm there!! Take care muffie!!

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  3. Wow. So glad you didn't get a direct hit. As for the threat of a hurricane before your wedding, OMG. I know what it's like to be under the threat of a hurricane (and having lived through several), but if my wedding was at risk? That's grounds fot a nervous breakdown!

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  4. We had similar storms, totally scary and awesome at the same time.

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  5. Pretty dramatic what wind and water can do when Mother Nature cranks up.

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