Saturday, September 25, 2010

Liberation paradox

My repaired, transformed truck is finally ready for me to use. Well, almost ready, they didn't quite fix everything, something not related to the repairs got un-repaired (easy to fix, once you get at the connector that clearly has been mis=connected; something else needs to be looked into... but it's very easy to drive, now that it's automatic rather than manual.

So I'm so pleased to have my truck and my vehicular independence, and I think, Finally... now, if I want to go to the store and get some chips or a snack or dinner or anything... finally, I can.

And then I think, But then I'll have to walk around the store.

And walking... that's not good. It's certainly not fun. Or easy. Or pleasant.

So, I can get there, but I don't want to do what needs doing (walking around the store) once I get there.

So, being free to go anywhere, any time I want... is freedom to suffer.

Oh well.

I am, though, still going to get hand controls. Truck is much easier to drive now, and I can still operate it safely and successfully, but the nerves in my legs are sending so much "static" that it's only a matter of time before foot-operated controls won't be accessible.

And some stores have those cute little electric goodies you can drive around the store in... I've used them twice now, and they're a godsend.

Blessings come in very interesting flavors.

3 comments:

Judy said...

"those cute little electric goodies"

Can't live without them, even wrote a poem about them:

Let us go racing
in our motorized carts
while shopping for food.

Let us see how well
we can resemble nimble
swift go-cart drivers.

Let us zip and dash,
beep and reverse, cut corners,
and spark a new trend.

Judy

Karen said...

That's why I love drive-through windows, you can get almost anything. When I lived in Australia, they even had drive through bottle shops (liquor and beer).

Laura said...

Hi Robert, I found your link on Karen's blog and love the title of yours...I too find many hidden and surprising gifts to living with MS.

I found over the summer when I finally re-entered grocery stores for the first time in a year that even with the little scooters at the store, I still needed someone to come with me to get up and down to reach stuff I couldn't and then to unpack the car when I got home...though lately I've not been driving at all. Still it's fun to be able to go with my husband to the store and at least make choices based on what looks good in the produce isle! Your hand controls adaptation is making me think that this is something to look into for my family, thanks.