Old? Infirm?

A friend sent this article to me today:

Are you Old? Infirm?

I can relate. Though I'm not old - despite what the three-year-olds in my Sunday school class say.

And I am not infirm - and I'll wack over the head with my cane anyone, repeat anyone, that would call me that.

I resemble Nancy in the article. She calls herself crippled. And Mr. Bruni wrote, "I confessed that I cringed whenever she called herself “crippled,” which she does, because she values directness and has a streak of mischief in her." I prefer the term 'gimp' and have also had others cringe when I say that. I like the term they arrived at "limited" but it's not perfect - maybe just a little more politically correct.

I have felt that diminishment when in my wheelchair. But being a tad feisty and Irish, I fight that with every ounce of my being. My personality has always been a little on the large side and not very quiet or shy, so I make it a challenge to 'be seen' - and not as the woman in the chair but instead for the woman that I am, and to make the chair disappear.

I also believe, I am ahead of my time. As we boomers are getting older, we rely more on assistance to get around. So, dear friends, I'm just being a four-wheeling trailblazer and doing all I can to erase any potential stigma there might be to being 'limited'. You can thank me later!

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