Wheelchair Life: an Update

The twins are doing wonderfully in their power wheelchairs. Their teachers report that they continue to thrive, in the social sense, with their able-bodied classmates and that their driving skills in the three months since they started preschool have improved significantly. [Insert beaming mother here.]

Our driveway has a slight incline to it. I never noticed it before, but when the twins unload from the van in the driveway, they race up to the garage door and squeal, "Time to slide!", and then burn rubber at mach speed all the way down to the sidewalk, where they screech to a halt. It's pretty hilarious--and I now have black tire marks on the side of the driveway where they tend to do this. Heh heh.

Last Friday the twins did not have school. Instead, I took them to a nearby outdoor shopping mall in the non-busy morning hours. The idea was to give them more practice driving in public places--and to hopefully give the public some exposure to my fleet of wheelchairs, in my ongoing attempt to socialize our neighborhood to our unique circumstances. My master plan on Friday was working just fine until the twins and I were crossing a small street within the parking lot. A grandmother-type (driving a white Saturn Vue, Arizona tags 911-LVE, in case you know this person...) sped over a speed bump, stopped abruptly for us at the stop sign, then rolled down her window and yelled at me to get the three year old toddlers operating their wheelchairs at a perfectly acceptable speed to move faster. To say that I was livid would be an understatement. This woman serves as a reminder that no matter how wonderful life can seem sometimes, there is always a cruel bitch (who probably kicks newborn kittens in her spare time) to bring us back to reality. The twins didn't notice the hostility, so I elected to silently wish her very, very bad karma and then move on with our shopping trip. Here they are driving away from the kitten kicking lunatic a few seconds after the altercation:














Yesterday was an interesting day, and notable for two things:

1) Lauren crashed into the billiards table at high speed in her wheelchair and moved it halfway across the room. She was extremely upset at the accident and at first we didn't know what injuries she might have caused herself. She's fine today--there are no signs or symptoms of fracture. But she moved a regulation sized pool table with a two piece slate, ball return--all heavy features--five feet across the floor with her knees. I guess milk does do a body good...?

2) We went to Zoo Lights at the Phoenix Zoo yesterday evening! Lauren wasn't interested in driving herself within the zoo after her accident, so I just dragged the baby stroller with us and used that instead. It worked out well, though, because it was a school night and there wasn't a ton of time for lollygagging with three year olds in wheelchairs (and the usual troublesome, oblivious public) with an early bedtime in mind. In any case, the kids had a blast. It was a very warm night--a fabulous 64 degrees F within the zoo--and it wasn't nearly as busy as the zoo lights we've attended in previous years. I hope the kids grow up having fond memories of Zoo Lights at the Phoenix Zoo every year.















I hope life is merry and bright this holiday season for all my readers!