Handicap placard and a Gym membership

I saw a video on TV the other day and they were having a good time taunting a very obese person for being "disabled" and then at the gym working out on a bike and a treadmill later that same day.  I understand that some people do use handicap placards when they don't really need to, however there are a few of us who do need and use them, but yes we still go to the gym and use the exercise equipment also.

As one of those persons who does have a handicap placard and a gym membership let me shed a little light on this subject.  I have the placard due to the fact that I have arthritis in my lower back (injury from basic military training), arthritis around my sternum (from a work injury), arthritis in both hips (from pregnancy) and arthritis in my tailbone (from carrying twins and things not going back into place).  I have a good reason to need my placard especially when the weather changes or it is extremely cold as every movement is painful.  This being said I have developed a tolerance for pain that would make a grown man crumble on the ground, but I do still carry on with my duties of a mother and wife.  

Now for the gym membership part of this blog.  I walk on the treadmill at the gym because it is a softer surface for me to exercise on and does not cause pain in my hips and knees.  I can also stop at any point when the pain gets to much or even just slow down a bit and keep moving.  I use the stationary bike to move my lower body when I can't stand the pain of putting all my weight on my lower joints.  Recently I have been doing some of the weight machines with the lightest weight on them to help build some of the muscle that I have lost over the last few years of "babying" my hurting joints.  This was not something that I just decided to do on my own.  I talked to my doctor and then made an appointment with a trainer to see what I could do and how to do these things safely so that I did not cause any further injury to my joints.

I have found that if I move in a safe manor it does not hurt as much when I have to just keep moving to get groceries for my family.  When I do move at the gym my joints are not as swollen at night and I sleep better, which makes me less cranky when the person next to me blocks the handicap space or parks so close that I can't get back into my car.  I do these things now when it only hurts for a few days afterward, so that I won't have to stop walking, and then possibly have to quit working, due to the fact that my joints have become so damaged from the arthritis that I am stuck in a wheelchair. 

Doesn't it hurt to go to the gym if your handicapped?  YES it does.  Then again doesn't it hurt to go to the gym if your not handicapped?  Yes if you are working on gaining your strength, it is going to hurt.  I have just decided that I want to be able to move and deal with the pain than be stuck in a wheelchair and still have the pain.  I smile and try to not to let others see how much I hurt so that I can function and do my job.  I did not ask for the joint problems that I have, so I deal with the pain and do what I can to have a normal life.  

Just because you don't see me crying does not mean that I do not hurt.  There have been times that my children have seen me cry as I try to climb into the truck after buying groceries since it took all my strength just to get through the store.  

When you only see a person's life for a few minutes, you really have no idea what is going on the rest of the day.

Mowing the Yard

     It has been about 14 years since my daddy left the earth.  I know that my daddy loves me and feel that he is watching over me at times.  The other day was one of those times that I felt extremely close to him.  It happened while I was mowing the yard, which I used to love to do. 
     Daddy is the one who taught me to mow a yard a long time ago.  That was one of the things we did together.  Daddy let me come and help him when he was cleaning up abandoned properties for his friend, a realtor. Since most of these homes had yards that were very overgrown, I learned how to mow a yard with tall grass, most of the time wet at the bottom, and not choke the mower.  It was not always the most fun thing to do, but spending time with Daddy was always great.
     Our yard had gotten to the point of the dogs, three of them little, being lost in the tall grass.  It was getting hard to keep an eye on them in the back yard and there was rain in the forecast again.  I had no choice but to go and mow the yard, plus the under grass was never going to dry out.  My back and legs were hurting before I even finished the front yard and the back yard is twice the size of the front.  I was starting to take several breaks and not getting much done between them.  While sitting on the back porch, crying from pain and frustration, I had no idea how I was going to get the yard done.  I had thought about quitting several times and just leaving the rest for another day.  I am not a quitter and don't usually back down from any challenge that I come across.  Finally I sat there with tears falling down my face and thought, "Daddy please help me.  I can't do this yard without your help."  I guess he heard me because I was able to get up and do a little more this time.  I started getting stubborn and trying to more between each break, so daddy choked the mower to make me stop.  It was not the usual feeling I get when I finish the yard; however, it was the best feeling I have had at the end of an overgrown yard.
     I love my daddy as much today as I ever have.  I would never want to be without the lessons he taught me while alive and the blessings that I see in every day things since he has been gone.