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 ...

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

The amazement of children

I am a kid magnet. Especially little ones in strollers, my fellow four-wheelers. They will look at me, then my 'stroller', then back at me. And I waste no time in striking up a discussion with these fellow captives of the four-wheel system that has us at the mercy of whomever may be pushing us around. For those that are verbal, I like to compare our 'strollers'. One such young man, at the March in D.C. pointed out that I had two really big wheels and two really small ones, but his transport's wheels were all the same size and then he counted (it was adorable watching him squirm around in the stroller to look at the wheels behind him!) eight wheels. "Pus," he lisped what I assume was 'plus', "I have a hood." He proudly grabbed the stroller canopy and pulled it forward and backward. Yep, he had a much superior ride and I told him so. Then he said, with not a hint of awkwardness, "You're big for a stroller." His mother was ab...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

I put my pride aside and got my ass off the grass and into the wheelchair. {I spent a couple minutes deciding whether to put an exclamation mark after that declaration or to put the period after that statement. I think the period better suits my mood about getting said ass into the wheelchair!} On July 4, Saugatuck has a wonderfully unique parade that includes quirky participants like the artsy-fartsy campers at OxBow art colony and the LGBT members of a local foundation along with the more traditional participants like Girl Scouts, fire trucks, and local politicians. It had been a couple years since I had been to the parade, this year, though, my Mom and sister were in town and I wanted to take them. So we loaded up in the van, including Kerri's wheelchair and my own. Once we parked, John asked if I wanted to use my chair and I initially balked but then remembered that it can be a long, hot parade and it might be better to have a place to sit. So, I acquiesced and took the cha...
2 comments
Read more