Today is Blogging Against Disablism Day, 2012.
I am disabled. Mostly by society.
I am on wheels. Everyone should know this by now. Regular readers, anyone who reads my About page, people I’ve worked with, laughed with, gotten lost with, my parents and the man who loves me. That’s everyone.
What people may not know is this: I am totally OK with it. My CP means that I will never run a marathon. I may drive one, though. It means I don’t go to the gym. I probably should, but I don’t have to. I can do laps around my house, or push my myself uphill. Or over cobbles.
I’m never going to walk down the aisle, but I may get funky new wheels for the occasion. I don’t care how I get there, I’m more about the the man at the end, and the people there with us.
Yes, CP sometimes sucks. So do taxes. Taxes are worse.
Other posts from where I sit:
Yes, I’m The Bride. Who Are You?
I Don’t Sleep With My Colleagues
Join the Gin & Lemonade newsletter!
Subscribe to get a roundup of posts and other groovy stuff every week!
21 Comments
I wish I had known this and as I often do, I wish I had kept my post about how my father came to be NotElvis.
May is also ALS Awareness month and your idea of funky wheels for the wedding reminded me of another bright spirit who . . . well, rolled with it: http://wp.me/p1wS2d-N8 .
Beautiful piece, Hipster. Thanks for sharing your words.
Visiting on the BADD tour. Your line “Yes, CP sometimes sucks. So do taxes. Taxes are worse” reminded me of an Australian writer, Dorothy Cottrell (1902-1957), who also used a wheelchair after surviving polio. She said, “Certainly I would like to be able to walk, but if the good fairy of old stories offered me the one gift, the ability to walk would not be the thing I would ask for. More years with my husband than I may normally expect, the ability to write better–a dozen things–would come before it.”
http://disstud.blogspot.com/2007/07/july-16-dorothy-cottrell-1902-1957.html
Thanks for the comment, Penny. I had never heard of Dorothy. But she was a wise woman. There are a few things I’d like to change in this world, my CP is not one of them.
Another great BADD post – pithy & to the point!
Pithy is one of my favourite words. And so, I thank you!
[…] honor of Blogging Against Disablism Day, I urge you to check out Gin and Lemonade, a wonderfully witty blog by a wonderfully witty woman who, among other things, writes prolifically […]
Great post! I would also like to nominate you for the HUG award!
See http://hurdlestohappiness.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/the-hug-award/ and
http://ahopefortoday.com/2012/01/14/hope-unites-globally-hug-award-guidelines/ for guidelines! Congratulations!! ☺ Best, Dan
Disabled you are not – you simply roll through life rather than stumble through it. Your brain works exceptionally well, your heart pumps as it should, you have a man you love and who loves you beside you – that is enough. That is all one could hope for. You are.
“I am disabled. Mostly by society.”
Wow. 6 of the most beautiful, powerful, honest, control-taking words ever.
Amazing.
You give me hope and pride and courage.
Thank you, Vaneesa! If you’d like more info on the social model of disability, the wiki page is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_model_of_disability
great article LKD! TY for the reference! 🙂
I don’t think education alone would fix *everything* but I do think it would help SO much. I think education, familiarity, understanding, dissolving mystery and fear… that’d go so far toward building a more inclusive, less chauvinistic culture for all of us.
Nicely stated. 🙂
LOVE
And I love your wheels! Thanks for the comment, nice to meet you!
Stunning – especially “taxes are worse”, that made me laugh. There are always worse things – like taxes, which I’ll have to do one day. So thanks for the reminder.
What a great outlook to have! And you’re absolutely right – it doesn’t matter how you get down the aisle so long as the man that you love is waiting for you! And… taxes suck! 🙂
Here on the BADD Tour. This is the first time I’ve ever read your blog…I can tell from your short piece that you’re just awesome. 🙂
Thank you! You’re pretty cool, too!
I adore you. Love the first two sentences especially.
[…] honor of Blogging Against Disablism Day, I urge you to check out Gin and Lemonadea wonderfully witty blog by a wonderfully witty woman who, among other things, writes prolifically […]