Common Sense

You know, every day I learn more and more about just how sweet Ken can be.  This guy is such a humanitarian.  He has such a soft spot in his heart for all living creatures.  How do I know this?  The other day while pumping gas, he noticed a group of a dozen or so beetles and about half of them somehow ended up on their backs and were wiggling their legs frantically while trying to get back up.  (Sort of reminds me of when I was pregnant with the kids) Anyway, my sweet, sweet hubby stopped what he was doing and took the time to flip those little beetles back over.  What a guy! 

Anyway, on an unrelated note…What in the heck ever happened to good ol’ fashioned common sense?  Oh, my goodness.  Picture this…Four cripple people come into a national chain restaurant to have dinner.  Three of the four are using 160-pound power wheelchairs.  The other brandishing a five-pound wheeled walker complete with beverage cup holder.  Upon arriving, the host person grabs four menus and politely says…”Will that be a booth or table?”  Now, does it take a rocket scientist to figure out that three 160-pound power wheelchairs cannot in any way park on the seat of a booth?  Next time, Ken is going to say…”Booth, please!” and see just how long it takes for the host person to realize that it would really not be a good idea.

Anger Issues

Hello everyone!

Things around the Davert house have been busy as usual.  We dropped both of our sweeties off at camp on Sunday…and I miss them sooooo much!  But, I know they are in good hands and having a great time. 

While they are gone to camp, Ken and I thought we would take the opportunity to have a little vacation.  So, on the way home, we zipped over to Frankenmuth for an overnight stay.  For those of you who don’t know what Frankenmuth is, it is a little tourist town with a German flair.  We had a ball.  We went swimming and had the best old-fashioned chicken dinner at the Bavarian Inn.  The Bavarian Inn is a huge restaurant.  As amazing as it may seem, when the waitress seated us, it was the same table we sat at last year! 

This weekend, I realized that I definitely have some anger issues that need to be addressed.  And I do believe this vacation was a good first therapy session.  Whenever things don’t go my way, my first reaction is to get angry about it.  And then I typically stew about it for at least a day or two.  There is probably some deep rooted childhood thing that is associated with my behavior, or maybe it is just a bad habit of mine, but all that doesn’t matter.  I just know I need to be a much more patient person today.

After we checked out of our hotel the next morning, I went over to a concierge desk to ask about our Perks Club points.  I was anxious to get going, because Ken and I had a lot of sightseeing to do that day.  With only one lady in front of me, I figured it wouldn’t take long.  Boy was I wrong.  This lady was the most chattiest person I ever met.  (Is there such a word as chattiest? Oh well, it fits this story so I’ll use it!)  This lady talked about all her ailments, about her friends and their names and ailments, about where she was going next on her vacation and who she was going to visit…and she went on, and on, and on, and on…

I turned back to Ken who was sitting about 30 feet away and gave him a confused and angry look.  He shrugged his shoulders.  I turned back, and the lady was still going.  I then came up with the brainy idea that I would skooch my power chair up closer so I could be seen in her peripheral vision.  Maybe if she knew someone was behind her, she would politely end her conversation.  Well, that didn’t work either.  I learned more about her family, and the people who worked for her…on and on and on...  Then, “angry” kicked in.   I was not only getting angry at that lady, but the concierge behind the desk.  I was getting angry at the lady’s mother who gave birth to her, and everyone who did her wrong in her life who were the subject of all these stories she wanted to tell. 

I was about to blurt out a rude comment in the hopes that they would finally notice my displeasure… when all of our sudden….I remembered something Fr. Bert talked about in church last weekend. (See I was paying attention!)  He reminded us that our job on Earth was to be kind to others, even by simply giving a smile or a kind word.  I realized that I had two choices:  A) to allow my anger to make this a bad situation or B) I could shed a little sunshine in the world.  As difficult as it was for me to hold back my anger, I chose B.  I continued to sit patiently. 

All of a sudden, the lady looked to her side and saw me sitting there. “Oh, my goodness!”  she exclaimed. “I’m so sorry. I’ve just been going on and on and you have been waiting for me.”  I touched her arm gently and said, “Oh, that is okay, it feels like I've known you for a long time!” and I smiled back at her.  “Here, let me give you a gift!”  she said as she started digging through her purse.  “Oh, no, no, no, that is okay, you don’t need to do that.”  I said, as I started feeling really guilty for being angry at all with this really sweet lady.

She pulled out of her purse a crocheted doily she made and gave it to me.  “Here, you take it. Now I made it out of cotton, so you can set a really hot pan on it…” And she proeceeded to tell me all about that doily in great detail.  “Thank you,” I said as she walked away.

Well, I decided, I’m keeping that doily in a special place to remind me about how controlling my anger can make much more positive things happen.  Thanks, Fr. Bert, for your words of wisdom!

Have a great day!

Missy

Breakfast Compass

Ken just said to me, “I don’t know why I’m so tired tonight.” 

I said in reply, “Well, let’s see.  Maybe it is because we didn’t get much sleep last night and we have been on the go all day.”

Then he mustered enough strength to say, “Oh…yea.”

What a day it has been!  There is no way I can tell you everything that happened, but I’ll share some of the highlights.

All the craziness started this morning.   I realized our dog, Sammie, has a special talent.  He is a breakfast compass.  You know how a compass works…no matter how you turn it, always points north.  Well this morning, no matter where I walked around the kitchen munching on Michaela’s leftover waffles, Sammie continued to point his nose in my direction. Then, he had the nerve to look at me with those big brown eyes (see the slightly embellished photo above), trying desperately to pull at my heart strings, so I would share it with him….No way…Call me selfish, but it was mine…mine…mine!

Ken had to go out of town today, so I was in charge of picking up the kids.  Sounds simple enough. I had some extra time before school got out, so I took my rolling grape and my super sleek and wonderful power chair to my Mom’s house for a visit.  When it was time to pick up the kids I grabbed my coat, said goodbye to my Mom, and headed out the door.  Just then, I realized that I had my super sleek power chair with me and my car will only fit two power chairs.  Yikes!  What was I to do?  I could just leave one of the kids at school for the rest of the day, but I decided that wasn’t the best thing to do, so I hurried back home to drop my power chair off in the garage and zoomed in my rolling grape (within the legal speed limit of course) to school to pick up the kids.

When we got home, there was a mysterious black car parked in front of our house with a man sitting inside.  I pulled into the garage, and all three of us got out of the car.  As I was closing the door on the van, I noticed a second car pulling up in front of our house.  A man got out of the first car, and a second man got out of the other.  One appeared to be caring a large back bag.  They both started walking up the driveway.  Slightly frightened, I zoomed in my spiffy power chair out of the garage to meet them at the end of the driveway. 

“Can I help you?”  I asked as my knees were shaking.  They gave me their names, and I gave them a stare like a deer in headlights…not knowing who in the heck they were.  “Didn’t University of Michigan tell you we were coming?” they said.  Oh, oh….All of a sudden the light bulb came on.  I instantly remembered that some men from a national publicity company were suppose to come up from Detroit to interview the kids about a possible television commercial for the U of M hospital.  Somehow I forgot to put this very very very important appointment on our calendar.  This was NOT good, because I realized that our house was a total WRECK before I left home. 

We had junk all over the place.  There was a 20-pound bag of dog food on the kitchen cupboard, right next to the moldy bread I forgot to throw away.  The kitchen table was a mess, along with my kitchen cupboard.  And the floor…the lovely floor, it looked like a NASCAR race had occurred just moments before, because there were super spiffy power chair tracks all over the place as a result of the rain and snow the past couple days.

They were really nice guys, and they asked the kids all kinds of questions.  Just then, I felt a sense of doom…they asked me if they could take some photos around the house to take back to their producer.  Michaela gave me the evil eye, because she really wants to be in the commercial, and she was quite certain her chances were slim to none after they saw our house.  Our only hope…maybe, just maybe, they didn’t notice the disaster that surrounded them.

As they were leaving, they said they would contact us in a couple weeks to let us know if they wanted to include the kids in their advertising campaign.  When the door closed behind them, I gave Michaela a look, very similar to the look the dog gave me in the above photo.  She grabbed me by the shoulders, pulled me toward her, and said, “Mom, let this be a lesson to you…you need to do a better job cleaning the house!”

The moral of this story…Always keep your house clean, for you never know when publicity people will be stopping by.

Go Blue!

#35 - Kroger Calamity

Hello Everyone!

It’s been another blog-filled day!  Michaela and I pulled into the garage with the rolling grape oozing with junk food.  Ken met us at the car to help us out, and with his super sweet and cheery voice he said, “Well, how was your afternoon?”  I looked at him with my eyes glazed over and said  ”Ken, I just spent four hours grocery shopping with two cripple people and a Mom with an injured foot, need I say more?”   Let’s just say it was a shopping trip I won’t soon forget.

My Mom injured her foot a few weeks ago, and she needed someone to take her grocery shopping.  Have you ever gone grocery shopping with a wandering Mom and a daughter with a power wheelchair?  Let me tell you, it’s like spending four hours trying to herd cats.  Every time I managed to gather them both up, something would catch their eye and off they would go.  Thank goodness for cell phones, or I’m sure I would have lost them forever.

Mom had a very long list of things to buy, and we needed nothing.  However, NOTHING is NOT what we bought.  Michaela and I broke the most important rule of grocery shopping…NEVER GO GROCERY SHOPPING WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY.  We were both a bit hungry, and everything on the shelves looked so good to us.  As my Mom hobbled along gathering meat and vegetables, Michaela and I zoomed along in our stylish power chairs grabbing only the things that looked particularly tasty…you know, things like ice cream, cookies, candy, pizza, and the list goes on and on.  We even bought the dog some goodies. 

As we were zooming along in junk food land, Michaela decided she wanted me to stop by Taco Bell on the way home to buy her some nachos and cheese.  I gathered the small amount of patience I had left for the day and replied to her with a soft and happy voice, “Michaela, we have a grocery cart full of junk food and frozen ice cream, we are not going to stop by Taco Bell.” 

Well, do you think that was the reply she wanted to hear?  I think not.  “Mommy….Taco Bell,” she repeated again.  “No, Michaela, no Taco Bell,”  I replied.  Well, for the next several aisles, all I heard was this sweet little voice behind me…”Mommy, I want nachos, Mommy I want nachos, Mommy I want nachos….”  “No, No, No,” I replied.  “Mommy, I want nachos…Mommy…....oh....look at this adorable Teddy Bear!…Can I have it?  I’ll pay for it,”  she said with delight.  “Ah, why, yes…yes, you can… IF you promise not to ask me to stop by Taco Bell again,” I said with a commanding dwarf-like mom voice.  “Oh, I promise Mom!”  she squealed.  She grabbed the big squishy cuddly blue thing and gave it a big ol’ hug.  Finally peace and quiet.  Well, that lasted about two aisles when I heard, “Mommy, can I have Taco Bell?” again.  Well, my patience had grown weary by this time, and I took the little sweet cuddly Teddy by the neck and said, “Michaela, I’m gonna put Teddy up here on the shelf with the canned vegetables if you ask me one more time!”  Ah, quiet once again.

All of a sudden my Mom comes limping around the corner with her basket and in a frantic voice she exclaims  ”Help me find the tooth soakers!”  “Tooth soakers?  What in the heck is that?” I said.  “You know, tooth soakers!” she replied in dismay.  After several minutes of looking down the toothpaste aisle, I finally figured out she was looking for Polident!  You know, I think older people just like to confuse us, just so we don’t realize they are the ones who are confused!

Just a few minutes later what to my wondering eyes did appear?…The checkout counter!  Oh, what a beautiful sight!  Finally, our shopping adventure is complete….or so I thought.

My poor Mom started unloading the groceries…one at a time, upon the conveyor belt.  It was a tedious and long process because she was having difficulty managing with one foot.  I was not any help at all, because I knew if I tried to help, I would end up head first in the grocery basket with my feet sticking up in the air.  The line behind us grew longer and longer.  Not because it was taking us so long, but also because the other customers were laughing and finding us amusing.

As soon as Mom finished loading her groceries on the checkout counter, she started loading ours.  When Michaela saw her cute little cuddly Teddy bear headed down the conveyor belt… she knew he was “officially” hers…And guess what she blurted out?  You guessed it…”Mommy, can I have Taco Bell?”  Augh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After Mom was all checked out, she looked at the cashier and said “How much is hers?”  The teller looked at Mom with confusion and said, “I don’t know Ma’am, I haven’t checked out her groceries yet.”  I looked at the lady waved my hands over the groceries and said, “Well, why don’t you just take an estimate and that will be good enough.”  I guess that is not their policy.

Well, there was one more problem I hadn’t yet thought about….How were we going to get two carts of groceries in my little rolling grape with three people and two power chairs?  My first thought was…why don’t I just leave Michaela there, that would solve the Taco Bell problem...but she didn’t like that idea too much.  So, I looked at the bag boy and said, ”Do you have any bungie cords? Maybe we can tie some of these bags to the luggage racks.”  But he didn’t like that idea.  I’m sure he looked at my rusty old car and realized he wasn’t going to get a tip big enough to warrant that much effort.

So after we loaded Michaela and Mom into the car, the bag boy stacked and stacked and stacked the groceries until he could stack no more.

The final step was to fold the wheelchair ramp up.  As it closed we heard squish, crinkle, snap, smunch as it pushed the groceries in as far as they would go.  We looked at each other, smiled, and had a good laugh!

Just another ordinary day!

Love,
Missy

#35 - Duke of Hazard

Hello Everyone!

Well, it’s been an interesting day!  I had plans to visit my Mom this morning, so I packed up all my stuff, jumped in my sleek, shiny and sporty power chair and headed for the garage.  Not to my surprise, my car (which I call the rolling grape due to its purple color and grape-like shape, would not start (because I hadn't driven it in about a week).  Augh. 

So, my wonderful husband said he would give it a jump for me.  The problem was, he had to move the car out of the garage in order to reach the little do dahs (or whatever you call them) under the hood.  So, he put my car in neutral, hopped out, and with all his might proceeded to push the car in reverse.  His face got red, the veins popped out of his neck, and he proceeded to make the funniest grunting noises I ever heard.  The car just wouldn't budge.  What were we to do? 

Suddenly, I got a brainy idea.  I later discovered I shouldn't have acted on it...but too late, I did.  I zoomed my nice sporty super powerful power chair in front of the rolling grape.  I figured if my power chair is strong enough to haul me around all day, it could probably push that two ton minivan.  So, I lined it up carefully with the front bumper and threw it in reverse.  Much to my excitement...and amazement...the car started to roll.  I smiled at Ken and said...well, are you going to give me a hand? He grabbed the front end and gave it a final push...out the garage it rolled! 

Oh joy........oh joy......oh NO!!!  We forgot that the nice new driveway is on an incline.  And as we were celebrating our incredible feat…the car rolled faster and faster toward the ditch!  It didn't take too long to realize we had to do something...fast!  I think my husband has been watching a few too many 80's reruns lately, because for a moment, he thought he was Bo from the Dukes of Hazard.  He went running for the car, and as it was rolling, he jumped inside the open side door!  As he was working his way to the front of the car to slam on the brakes, the car proceeded to roll toward the ditch. 

For a moment, for a brief moment, the thought came through my mind that I should zoom my sleek sporty power chair behind the back of the car...after all...that would surely stop it!  But fortunately, another thought came to mind...what if it doesn't stop and my rolling grape flattens my sporty new chair...and me as well!  Bad...bad...idea... Just then, the car came to a stop!  Ken had saved the day!!!  Oh joy!

He hopped out of the rolling grape, pulled his van in front of mine, and grabbed the jumper cables.  "Here, will you hold these? And don't let the two ends touch each other." he warned, as the shakes from his cerebral palsy kicked in full force.  I almost peed my pants as he handed them over to me, because I thought he might electrocute himself...and me!  I'm sure our guardian angels were working overtime this morning.  But, he managed to get the job done...as he always does!   He clipped the cables to the do dahs in his car, and then to mine.  The next thing I heard was the sweet sound of the rolling grape revving its engine!  My hero.

I don't know why the neighbors subscribe to cable television...anytime they want some good entertainment, all they have to do is open their window shades and look our way!

Oh, and the dog...he chomped down another whole loaf of bread this morning.  Not sure how our 50 pound beagle keeps getting up on our kitchen cupboard lately when we are not home.  But I guess if he keeps eating this way, eventually, he will just be too porky to move at all and our problem will be solved!

Have a wonderful day!

Love,
Missy