For those of you who don't know, our car broke down 15 months ago and since then we've been on foot, bus, light rail and bike. My daughter rides the bike to school, three miles each way - I worry about her daily, drivers don't watch for bikers (her friend got hit by a car on OUR bike three weeks ago!). I do all the rest, mostly on foot and by bus. This is why I now have plantar fasciitis. In case you're not up to speed on that, the bottom line is, its an excruciatingly painful, debilitating, inflammation of the bottom of your foot. For a long time I tried to keep a positive attitude about all this. But for the last 6 months when the pain began, I've been one miserable camper - physically and in spirit. AND I've gained weight (it happens when you can't work out). It's humiliating to beg for rides. Think of all the places you need to go and what you need to do once you get there and now figure how you'd do it without a vehicle, in the cold, heat and rain. Doctor appointments, trips to urgent care, grocery shopping (keep in mind you can only shop for what you can carry), pet store, veterinary clinic, post office, bank, library, Kinkos to use a printer, Wal-Mart/Target, pharmacy, hospital to sit with a dieing friend, the occasional movie, school shopping and on and on. But most importantly, my daughter is out there twice a day, five days a week in harms way just to get to school, also exposed to the wind, rain heat and cold. Not to mention so much valuable time wasted waiting for a transport. All this weighs heavy on my heart and has been eating at me like a disease.
Last week, after a long day on my feet and hobbling toward the bus stop, I reached a point where I just couldn't go any further, (normally I have a high threshold for pain. I'd PASSED it a month ago) couldn't take another step. I was still a half mile from the bus stop when I had to stop and rest. I watched my bus roll past and knew that no matter what, it would be at least another hour before the next one came, 15 minutes on that one then another half mile walk the rest of the way home. It was cold, nearly dark and I was hungry. I'd been holding back tears for a week. No more. One broke through and the damn burst. I told God I'd couldn't take another step. My phone rang. No it wasn't God, but as far as I'm concerned, it was the next best thing. A girlfriend was calling to tell me her husband was going to be out of town for a little while and since she didn't like to drive wanted to know if I'd like to borrow their car while he was gone. Oh Boy - WOULD I EVER??!!! Bless them, bless them for their generosity and love!
Brings us to now. We got the car on Sunday. We went to KFC and Taco Bell just because we could actually GET THERE! We stopped at Michaels, then waaay over to the other side of town to the health food store and we were only gone two hours! We listened to the radio and smiled alot. Lots of high 5's and knuckle bonks. Yesterday was Monday. It was also raining. And guess what - I drove my daughter to school! She got there warm, safe and dry - didn't have to sit in soggy cold clothes all day! Guess what else - I picked her up and drove her home too - again, warm safe and dry! WA FREAKIN HOOO!!! HOT DAMN - I felt like a grown-up again! This morning, without the hour wait time for the bus then the walking, I had time to walk my dog, take my daughter to school and stop at the grocery before heading to babysit for the day, only took me 8 minutes to get there from my house - geez, 8 MINUTES!!! After babysitting, I drove to the bank, hit Target for more groceries then grabbed a pizza from Little Ceasars - because I COULD! We haven't had a pizza in a year! Annnd, I got home in less than an hour --- annnd before dark! Even had time to watch a movie with my daughter!!! Man it feels good to be Real People again!!! Tomorrow I'm going to take my daughter to school - we may even stop at Starbucks on the way - because we can - then to the hospital to sit with a friend for a few hours. I'll hit the hardware store for bricks I've been needing, maybe a big bag of potting soil, recycle bookstore, pick Piper up after school, fix dinner then drive up to the YMCA for water aerobics. What an incredible lift, what an incredible GIFT! It feels so good not to worry, wait and hurt all day. I feel like an adult again!!! What a difference fr God bless my friends for their gift of lightening a huge burden!
Last week, after a long day on my feet and hobbling toward the bus stop, I reached a point where I just couldn't go any further, (normally I have a high threshold for pain. I'd PASSED it a month ago) couldn't take another step. I was still a half mile from the bus stop when I had to stop and rest. I watched my bus roll past and knew that no matter what, it would be at least another hour before the next one came, 15 minutes on that one then another half mile walk the rest of the way home. It was cold, nearly dark and I was hungry. I'd been holding back tears for a week. No more. One broke through and the damn burst. I told God I'd couldn't take another step. My phone rang. No it wasn't God, but as far as I'm concerned, it was the next best thing. A girlfriend was calling to tell me her husband was going to be out of town for a little while and since she didn't like to drive wanted to know if I'd like to borrow their car while he was gone. Oh Boy - WOULD I EVER??!!! Bless them, bless them for their generosity and love!
Brings us to now. We got the car on Sunday. We went to KFC and Taco Bell just because we could actually GET THERE! We stopped at Michaels, then waaay over to the other side of town to the health food store and we were only gone two hours! We listened to the radio and smiled alot. Lots of high 5's and knuckle bonks. Yesterday was Monday. It was also raining. And guess what - I drove my daughter to school! She got there warm, safe and dry - didn't have to sit in soggy cold clothes all day! Guess what else - I picked her up and drove her home too - again, warm safe and dry! WA FREAKIN HOOO!!! HOT DAMN - I felt like a grown-up again! This morning, without the hour wait time for the bus then the walking, I had time to walk my dog, take my daughter to school and stop at the grocery before heading to babysit for the day, only took me 8 minutes to get there from my house - geez, 8 MINUTES!!! After babysitting, I drove to the bank, hit Target for more groceries then grabbed a pizza from Little Ceasars - because I COULD! We haven't had a pizza in a year! Annnd, I got home in less than an hour --- annnd before dark! Even had time to watch a movie with my daughter!!! Man it feels good to be Real People again!!! Tomorrow I'm going to take my daughter to school - we may even stop at Starbucks on the way - because we can - then to the hospital to sit with a friend for a few hours. I'll hit the hardware store for bricks I've been needing, maybe a big bag of potting soil, recycle bookstore, pick Piper up after school, fix dinner then drive up to the YMCA for water aerobics. What an incredible lift, what an incredible GIFT! It feels so good not to worry, wait and hurt all day. I feel like an adult again!!! What a difference fr God bless my friends for their gift of lightening a huge burden!