Skip to main content

Four-wheeling in the city


"This is my kind of town
Chicago is my kind of town
Chicago is my kind of people too
People who smile at you and

Each time I roam
Chicago is calling me home...

Chicago is one town that won't let you down
It's my kind of town"



I have always felt this way about Chicago - the city of my birth and the city I love most. 

Until my trip last week, I would have said it was an easy city to get around in - and it still is if you're two-footing. But if you're four-wheeling and the sidewalks are snow-covered and the temps are below zero (below zero before the wind chill!!), it's a little more challenging. And I had help schlepping around the city with Delaney pushing my chair and loading it in-and-out of trunks (with the help of some interesting Lyft/taxi drivers). While queing up to enter the CIBC theatre to see Hamilton (incredible, worthy of the hype!!!) in those sub-zero temps, we met a kind couple that empathized with our plight and helped move us along so we could more easily get inside as there were several pushy patrons (say that fast three times!) making that seemingly easy task, difficult.

I'm willing to think the best of 'pushy-patrons' - that maybe they just don't see the woman in the wheelchair because they're so focused on getting inside or moving ahead. They're looking up and ahead, not down and to their side.

Delaney and I went shopping as well. A few of the stores did not have their accessible doors unlocked, because we learned that once those doors are opened the wind (it's the windy city after all!) prevented them from closing automatically. I get that and was grateful when one store clerk spotted us outside and literally ran to open the door for us. And I'm grateful to all the fellow shoppers that helped by opening or holding doors for us.

We went to a restaurant that had a lift for wheelchairs - but only one person on staff that knew how to operate it! And another restaurant with a lift that looked scary and as if it hadn't been used in awhile. Delaney and I took one look at it, looked at one another and agreed it was safer if I walked down the stairs. She then carried the chair down the stairs and I'm glad I have a lighter chair and a strong daughter!!

And that was my take-away from our recent trip. I am grateful I have a strong daughter who is willing to schlepp for and explore with me (and I'm confident Michael and Matthew would do the same) because I couldn't do it without you. Some battles or adventures are now too big for me to attempt by myself and I know that coming to that realization is HUGE for this strong-willed (not stubborn), independent woman. Admitting it does not mean I am weak, because it takes strength to ask for and accept help (especially from your children). I plan to do as much as I can for myself for as long as I can, but I will ask for help when needed. Because I'm strong!!

The Windy City may have lost some of it's allure for me, but it's still my favorite!

Comments

Post a Comment

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

Francis of Assisi would run away from home if he lived here!

The title might be a bit extreme - Francis might just go to his room and shut the door and put a pillow over his head to silence the 'noise'. I have done that on occasion. And not because I have toddlers, or a kid that plays the drums or even really loud kids - it's because I live in a house where there is one lawyer, one law school student, and two more potential lawyers. And me - the one singing "Let there be peace on earth . . ." The other four Piggins family members enjoy debating. Sometimes, I think for the sake of the debate. John, Michael, Matthew and Delaney seem to really like these 'discussions'. For instance, we were watching a television show recently - I cannot even recall which one, but it seemed fairly bland - when one of the barrister Piggins made a comment that inspired disagreement from another barrister Piggins. That inspired another from another. And then one more from another until the four of them were debating on some point that wa...
Post a Comment
Read more

You don't know me . . .

I stopped blogging for awhile. I know some might think that I was being lazy, or overly-involved in some community or school venture or in the middle of some really good books or projects. While all of those are true, that's not the main reason. I stopped because it felt strange to be somewhere and have someone refer to something I wrote. It was like they knew a secret about me (though secrets are not usually published on the Web) that I hadn't shared with them. Though in reality I had shared because I wrote it on the blog.  Truth be told, I don't know who reads this - I have a smattering of followers but a lot more readers. Blogger lets me see how many page views for each posting and I can even tell the referral site. The most I have had for any post was 152 and I've had readers from as far away as New Zealand (thank you Gretchen) and Alaska. Most readers are referred through Facebook. I know that if I were more diligent, I could market the crap out of the blog ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Struggling to not feel like a failure

Okay all of you 'struggling to stand' or 'not wanting to have to use a wheelchair' or others that look upon using a wheelchair as a symbol of failure, you're about to get punched. Punched in the figurative sense. I am about to go on my soap box and my Irish is up which means that I'm fairly peeved (though I've been mulling this over for awhile so I'm not as angry as I once was, which means there will be fewer expletives and a kinder tone). If you've read this blog or know me at all, you know that I did not go easily into using a wheelchair as my primary mode of transport. I too, may have had a little bit of your attitude about the wheelchair being sign of failure or of having given up. My sister, Kerri, helped put it in a different light. She said, and I'm paraphrasing here, "It's actually an energy saver since walking is stressful and you're worried about falling - using a wheelchair will take away a lot of that stress. You will hav...
Post a Comment
Read more