Out and about today, thinking

I had a very grand day today. Nothing special - probably mundane to most people - but for me my mind was clicking about making connections and being hopeful.

This is what I did:

1. I spent 5 minutes with Kieran (before school) showing him how to put rosin on his bow. I tried to explain how far to tighten it, how to hold it, etc. All learned by me last night on YouTube (Yahoo Web 2.0).

2. I remembered to pack lunches.

3. I remembered to send lunches.

4. I walked the big boys to school while James stayed with Aidan.

5. I read with a small group of Kindergarteners for 20 minutes.

6. I returned home and did ring around the rosie with Aidan. We did some fingerplays, giggled, read a book, and had a small snack.

7. Aidan and I visited with our neighbour and her therapy dog named Lucy.

8. I wrestled Aidan into the car (he hates to leave his furry friends).

9. We listened to music and drove downtown. I filled up the car with gas, Aidan fell asleep, I drove for a bit and wondered if it was too cold to go to the Wharf.

10. Instead of the Wharf, we went to the mall to get James the shirt he needs for work.

11. Aidan charmed 3 of the Eddie Bauer workers.

12. We met an old woman who admired how good natured Aidan is. He waved at her.

13. We saw groups of adults with special needs shopping. They had workers with them, and it was a completely normal experience for them, and for everyone else shopping.

14. 13 made me think of my dad and how years ago I skipped school to help take him and some other patients from the hospital on a cruise on the Chi Cheemaun from the Owen Sound harbour to Tobermory. Dad and some of the others were in wheelchairs and we took them to the lounge near the bow so they could see out. The other people who were sitting nearby got noticeably uncomfortable and left. It was a day that my heart was on my sleeve - I rarely got to be out of the hospital with Dad, and the fact that we were on the ferry together was monumental in my teenage brain. I wanted to say something meaningful and life-changing to those people. I wanted them to look at people with disabilities differently. I wanted them to see that my dad had a certain dignity, a way of holding his head up high, a twinkle in his eye, and an intelligence that never dimmed. But, I didn't say anything, just gulped it down and tried to forget them (obviously that is not the case as this event took place over 20 years ago).

15. The wistful looking back, and today's ability to sit with Aidan in the quiet noise of the mall, and the realizing of how far we've come in regards to people who are differently-abled made me hopeful for our future. Made me grateful for Aidan's future. And, well, just made me grateful in general.

16. The list went on, but I will not.