Life Keeps Rolling

I know, I know... the title is pretty synonymous with my overused statement of “keep moving forward” but oh well, here we are.  So something happened while I was sitting next to my girlfriend and puppy on the front porch this last weekend. The weather felt like a cool and tranquil fall morning which oddly calmed me even though I’m dreading the end of summer. Kass and I spent a few hours away from any and all screens and slow drank our coffees and enjoyed a calm Saturday morning, me in my chair and her and the pup in the pallet bed that she made. I just sat there thinking about how much I’ve grown and changed and about how great my life is.  I also started thinking about how miserable I would be if I were dwelling on how my life used to be. I am so proud of myself for being able to keep old aspects of my life behind me and continue to build this new life with my little family. I was sitting there sipping on my coffee without a care in the world and it was pretty damn nice....

I don’t want to scare anyone but there are only two weekends left in the technical ‘Summer’. Oh, what a summer it has been.  Whether I like it or not, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat all throw “memories” at me every morning. It is very rewarding to see a visual contrast between last summer and this summer each morning so I actually don’t mind these new features of social media. I get to look back and see how uncertain and insecure that I was when I was out. Maybe I put on a brave face and played it cool because that’s what I’ve been conditioned to do... Rules of the Infantry: 1) Always look cool. 2) Never get lost. 3) If lost, refer to rule #1. It is so great to see my therapist’s words actually playing out. That I would get the most therapy by simply living life away from the hospital.  This last weekend I went to a huge country concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA and spent the next day rolling through Fenway Park for picnic in the park. I was blessed with the oppo...

The Mountain  In front of me a wall. Made of stone and snow. Behind me a life of calm. A world I used to know. I plant my feet and begin my climb. Each step a daunting task. The ground is lax and loose. How will I make it past? I stride and I stumble. I slip and I fall. Each setback, a lesson To continue my haul.  As I slide, I reach, For anything to grope. I extend my arm out. My hand finds a rope. A helping hand, From strangers before. To stop with my fall, And assist with this chore. I pull myself forward, Press hard with my feet, Looking behind me, I see no retreat. I have climbed too high, To consider a plummet. Just ahead of me, I find the summit. I press on. *** God Bless!

We’ve all been there. Stressed out and ready to pull out our hair while making plans to get away. Packing and loading up for a trip. I feel like that stress can quickly doubles when you have to also worry about medical supplies and physical limitations. Living with a spinal cord injury makes it very difficult to plan impromptu getaways and I often see that reflected in trip planning.  It was all so simple prior to my injury. I would grab a backpack, fill it up with random Harley T-shirts and a few pairs of jeans and toiletries and I would be on my way. I could easily throw whatever on the back of my motorcycle and ride off. Now, a weekend getaway seems to fill up my entire van. It’s starting to seem like spontaneous little vacations have lost their spark because they now required so much logistics. One suitcase for medical supplies, one for clothes, one for toiletries. Extra seat cushion in case the one on my wheelchair gets a hole. Did we pack the wheelchair charger? How am I tran...