Let’s Lighten That Load
As I was meandering (a more genteel description for limping) toward the grocery store exit, it was clear that the young woman in front of me was anxiously angling to get that door open for this poor ‘ol thing. (Oh, heavens, I might topple over!) I very amicably acceded to her generosity. Yep, those very much-resisted 6th grade Southern cotillion lessons on graciousness really paid off. (Somewhere, my mother is saying “I told you so!” She’s entitled.)
Let’s backtrack a bit. I’m limping through errands today because, well, my back appears to be experiencing a rebellious phase. Very rebellious. I’ve somehow been blessed with a spinal compression fracture. I mean that sucker is just taking its own sweet time to heal. I don’t mean to be dim, but if the universe is sending me a specific message regarding my back, I haven’t gotten it yet. Hello?
Nonetheless, I continued to slowly move forward with my minimal shopping, ending at Walmart. Post-purchase, heading toward the exit, the omnipresent Walmart receipts checker saw me limping toward her and said, “No, dear, you’re fine. Just go right on out.”
Oh, my, that was it for this lil ol’ limping lady! I’d had enough! So well intended, but the concern and caring by others had taken on a suffocating air for my remaining aliveness (of which there is a hopping, considerable, amount.)
Ooooo, reality test, reality test! The caring folks around me were not the problem. I was the problem - yep, me - not those kind others. For the sake of experiencing my own, gnarly, felt independence, I really needed a buffer between me and the assumption by folks that I was just going to keel over! (I wasn’t, for heaven’s sake!)
In response to the Walmart receipts checker giving me an easy bye, out popped “I bet it’s my white hair and the limp, right?” followed by a smile. I just couldn’t resist.
Meaning, this woman - you know, the one with the white hair and limp - is sharp and funny, even if she looks like she might tilt over! Suddenly, I felt reinvigorated, saucy, and whole!
Yeah!
After my comment, the receipts checker stared at me for a moment, then burst out laughing. And continued laughing. Me, too. It was an unexpected moment of shared joy and mutual aliveness.
My current locomotion challenges are morphing into a door-opener for laughter, a merriment that is as essential to my existence as water and, of course, my fave, Diet Dr. Pepper. I’ll continue to juice this situation for its inherent light. And, why not?
My physical vulnerability, by choice, can be a vibrant source of shared laughter with others, heightening my sense of felt independence. I just hope that folks on the other end of my, um, lame explanations, can join me in laughter. Let’s lighten life’s load.
Good for you!