"Um...I'm stuck!"

Jodie has had her power chair since Christmas. It began stalling on her repeatedly, so two weeks ago we took it into the shop. They found a loose contact in the throttle, so they fixed it.

This week the chair started stalling again. Jodie called and made an appointment for us to drop the chair off at the shop this morning. Yesterday the chair did not stall at all, so this morning Jodie called and cancelled the appointment.

Just after Jodie got off the phone from cancelling the appointment, she went into the breakroom at her office to fill her water bottle at the sink. As she approached the sink, her throttle stuck. She rammed into the sink and got stuck.

Another worker came into the breakroom. She greeted Jodie. They were chit chatting, then Jodie said "Um...I'm stuck!" The worker was not able to free Jodie, so Jodie asked her to get the security guard.

When Jodie returned to her office, she had to call the shop back and tell them what happened. After lunch, I went and picked Jodie up and we took the chair to the shop.

I was proud of myself! I backed Jodie's chair onto the lift without flying off the lift. I have had nightmares of that. With the headrest on her chair it is hard to see backing up. I have trouble controlling the joystick throttle. And then, when you are turning the chair as you are backing up, the wheels swivel in funny directions making it hard to back up straight in such a short distance.

After we dropped the chair off we went to pick Eric up from school. We had an hour and a half until Eric's baseball game. We went to the store and sent Eric in to get us a snack.

The shop called. They needed to keep the chair overnight. We drove to the baseball field. It started to rain; within a half hour we got the call Eric's game was cancelled. Third rained out game this week.

Jodie will be staying home from work tomorrow since she does not have her chair. Hopefully I can go pick it up tomorrow, or the shop will have a loaner for me to pick up.

Another day.

I was at the bar...and this lady was hitting on me....

Friday means lunch at Action Jackson's with coworkers Vicky and Bonnie. Happy hour; if we come in before noon, cheeseburgers are $1.99, as are a platter of fries.

I filled my second punch card today. My next lunch is free.

The waitress knows my name...it has that "Cheers" feel. Action Jackson's is a bar and grill, in the same parking lot as our office.

We dine on the restaurant side of the establishment, but we go over to the bar side to pay our bill.

There have been more people on the bar side lately. When I went to pay my bill today, this guy, who was also there last week, was calling me "buddy" and his friend, and talking about how well I do. A touch condescending...I know...but people are who they are and I am who I am. I'd rather have people talk to me and relate to me any way they know how rather than have them ignore me.

It is hard to explain this stuff to people not familiar with disability. I get by fine, but with my type of cerebral palsy, doing the simplest thing takes effort. Getting my debit card and my punch card out without spilling all my other cards...takes effort. Signing the receipt takes effort. I always ask a friend or the server write the tip on the receipt for me.

I get by fine; it just takes effort.

So this guy at the bar, and other people around him, who are having a "happier" hour than my Happy Hour of $1.99 cheeseburger and $1.99 fries.

I was paying my bill today. Vicky, her husband Doug, and Bonnie was over by the door. I am waiting at the bar for my waitress to process my debit card. A lady at the bar started calling me friend. She grabbed my hand.

I signed the receipt. I asked the waitress to write in the tip. I put my debit card away. I was ready to go.

The lady still had hold of my hand! I could not free it!

I kept jerking and pulling my hand until I was free. I was afraid of being rude, but I had to get back to work.

That lady made my day. She gave me a good story to tell...

I was at the bar...and this lady was hitting on me....

A new chapter in our life

Today Jodie took her new power chair into church. It feels like a new chapter in our life.

We dropped Eric and Ma2 of by the door. Today was my day to run the computer power point during service.

Instead of going to our regular spot by Luther Lodge, there would be no room to run our back lift without blocking traffic, I parked in the back parking lot.

Jodie is getting better backing her power chair onto the lift. I decided to ride my scooter in also. It was a little further than I like to walk.

Jodie drove her scooter into the aisle beside the back row where her mother was sitting. I parked my scooter in the corner of the Narthex and walked in to sit by Eric.

Instead of going up front for communion, Jodie asked for it to be brought to her. I went over by her and took communion with her.

Eric was annoyed that I took my scooter in. He sees it as more work, having to help load it.

I don't think he quite gets this new chapter of life that we are in. We have had the lift van for two and a half years now. Prior to that we had a minivan in which we hauled one scooter inside and one outside.

We have been using our scooters since about 2001, primarily for long distances. Now, Jodie will be using her power chair most of the time, and I'll be using my scooter more of the time.

I am getting more use to loading and unloading Jodie in her power chair. It does take extra time, but I can feel God's grace with us.

Part of me wishes that Eric did not need to be inconvenienced by all this. I also wish Jodie and I didn't need to be inconvenienced by this stuff either.

I'm ever optimistic. We are blessed to have the equipment we need and we are blessed to have the courage we need. Some people have neither.

Prayers for Eric. I am searching for a way to make all this make more sense to him.

Jodie stranded....the boys to the rescue

Jodie drove her scooter to work today, even though it has been stalling on her. She does not like to drive my scooter..."my feet can't touch the floor" she says.

Eric and I were getting ready to leave. Eric's phone rang. Jodie was up to the next culdesac around the corner from us. He scooter stalled. I was glad it was there and not further along her way. We had plenty of room to park and load the scooter.

Later, Jodie called the shop where we normally take the scooters in for repair. Our thought was to leave the scooter there Saturday for it to be looked at on Monday. Under new management, they told Jodie they charge $55 a day to keep the scooter. Car shops don't even charge that!

We called All In One Mobility. The gal said it is probably the batteries. They don't charge space rent for scooters waiting for repair. She said some places do, but she thought $55 was high.

Being disabled is not cheap...

Another day...

Yesterday...another crazy day. My blood suger was low. The "Mountain Man" anouncement came. I went back to visit Mt. Man Andrea. We solve the world's ills in ten minutes you know. Mini macaroons...not bad!

By afternoon, my brain had faded. Reviewing IV-E for three kids on one case. Two kids on one set of court orders, the other on another. The last permanency orders gave us "reasonable efforts" to "develop" a permanent plan. I checked my notes, with my cohort, and with Salem. "Develop" does not work for RE. I need to find orders that give us RE. I need to figure out the timelines to see when IV-E needs to be turned off. My brain was overloaded.

Eric and I stopped at Safeway on the way home. Jodie needed cookies for a potluck at work. She also wanted jojo's for dinner. Eric and I could not figure out that request. More evidence to Eric of what I have been teaching him about the irrationality of...never mind. We bought the cookies and the jojo's.

The night before, Jodie told Eric and I that her scooter was starting and stopping abruptly on her way to work. I drove it around the block to see if it would repeat the behavior. It did not, but it was running rough. We think it was all the dried cherries on the tires. There is a cherry tree shedding cherries on the path that Jodie takes to work...she can't avoid them. Eric removed the

rear tires and put Jodie's scooter on blocks. He put the holder for Jodie's crutches on my scooter so Jodie could use it to get to work.

We got home. Jodie had called McCann's to have her scooter looked at. Eric was kind of upset that Jodie had made the appointment to take the scooter in before he had a chance to clean the dried cherries off the tires. I figured it was upsetting for Jodie to see her scooter up on blocks.

I cleaned out the van. Group lunch tomorrow, and people sometimes want a ride in out big rig, Jet White.

Jodie got home. We all three searched but there was no sign of her jojo's anywhere!

Sigh...