A life lesson at the library

Every now and then, you have a really humbling moment as a parent.

Mine happened yesterday at the city library.

But let me back up a bit so you'll understand.

Last week, my good friend Margaret asked if I'd be interested in doing something Thursday night. Ray was going to be out of town, so I knew it needed to be a Sawyer-friendly activity. Margaret and I had talked before about trying this new indoor trampoline park in Greensboro. I checked online and they had a "buy 2 admissions, get one free" for Thursday night, so that's what we agreed to do before going out to dinner.

We had a great time bouncing on the trampolines and doing toe touches and laughing at each others'  moves. We spent a long time diving into a pit of foam blocks.








Photos courtesy of Margaret

And then I landed wrong on my right ankle and thought the pain would kill me. Margaret had to help walk me off the trampoline court, and even Sawyer sensed something was wrong when he came to hold my other hand.

The young girl working in that area (the bouncing bouncer who would stop people from breaking the rules) offered me an ice pack, which I gladly accepted. Margaret was a huge help … she and Sawyer went to bounce out the rest of our hour, and then she delivered my shoes and keys and helped me to the car, which she had to drive.

Since Ray was still not back in town yet and we still needed to eat, the three of us went ahead to dinner as planned and had a fabulous time. I don't know if Sawyer understood I was hurt or was just having a good night, but he was on his BEST restaurant behavior.

Long story short: My ankle is a wreck. The doc said I probably didn't tear anything, but the pain is pretty bad. And the majority of my foot is deep purple.

But life goes on and parental duties never stop, so on my bum ankle I've had to chosen to:

• Attend Sawyer's dance performance at the LJVM coliseum in Winston-Salem on Friday night. Luckily, Ray was there to walk him around the coliseum when the gathering place changed at the last minute. 
• Take Sawyer to his best school buddy's birthday party Saturday. It was at Country Park. It was a lovely day, but that made getting there even harder. The park is a huge walking/running/biking place, so on weekends, it's closed to traffic, which meant we had to park farther away. And it's connected to our science center, which was packed on a beautiful Saturday. We spent a good 30 minutes trying to find a close spot, giving up, trying to walk, failing, getting back in the car, hunting for a closer space, finally finding a semi-close one, and enduring all kinds of weird looks as I followed 100 feet behind Sawyer on my crutches down a gravel hill. Well, that last part was just me. Sawyer was in a hurry to get there, and he was tired of me taking so long (as he'd told me a half-dozen times). 
• Hobble to church for his preschool's 60th anniversary celebration. 
• Drive myself around. It wasn't too bad in the two automatic cars, although I did have to use my left foot on the brake the first two days and remind myself, "Foot OFF the gas!" every time I needed to stop! I've needed to drive the 5-speed to work though, and that's been a challenge.

Anyway, it's been a long weekend. My foot hurts. I'm tired. The house is a mess because I haven't felt like doing housework. But the worst part of it for me is the loss of my mobility. I hate not being able to move quickly. I hate feeling like people are staring at my weird walk. I hate asking for help (although Sawyer has been an excellent gopher, and Ray has brought me ice packs repeatedly and goaded me into using my crutches more).

So back to my humbling moment … Sawyer and I stopped by the city library near our house yesterday after I picked him up from Ray's office. My foot was sore, even though I barely left my desk all day. I wanted three certain books, but I also was ready to be home. 

Naturally, Sawyer wanted to explore the kids section, but I told him we'd have to be quick. In the back corner, a bunch of parents were hanging out on benches while their kids played games on the library computers. Sawyer took off for that corner, and it took me a few minutes to catch up with him.

I didn't really pay too much attention to one mother, until she called her daughter and said they needed to leave to catch their bus. I did notice that, like me, she was relying on help from her child. She was blind. 

I watched the daughter, who was probably no older than 6, come immediately when the mother called  (something Sawyer is not always very good at doing). She picked up her mother's folding cane and handed it to her. She carried the DVDs they were going to check out. She asked her mother which bus they were going to take. And she cheered when her mom told her they were going to Taco Bell. 

I was instantly grateful for ONLY having a sprained ankle. With time, my foot will heal and I'll be able to walk normally and keep up with Sawyer. I can't imagine how challenging parenting would be with such a major obstacle as not having your sight or hearing or normal movement. I know how much people have to learn to work around these kinds of obstacles. And I'm sure they face new challenges they must adapt to when they have children. Imagine losing your child in a store or the library when you're blind. Imagine caring for a baby you can't hear cry. Imagine trying stop your child from running into the street when you use a cane or a wheelchair. 

But plenty of parents face these obstacles and learn how to deal with them … because there is no other option. 

I haven't really wallowed too much about my sprained ankle. It is what it is. I'm sure some people might think it's silly to be jumping on a trampoline when you're 37 years old … I've seen their rolled eyes and heard their stifled giggles. But that's OK. I don't think you have to stop doing fun things because you're …

A) a certain age 

B) a mother 

C) afraid of what might happen

D) all of the above. 

I could've sprained my ankle walking or going down steps (been there, done that) or any other everyday activity. You can't stop living because something bad might happen. Otherwise, I'd have to stop driving, working, flying, eating, loving, breathing. 

Someone's life, someone's problems are always more difficult than your own. It's easy forget that. 

Today, I am thankful that my biggest obstacle right now is healing and will disappear in a few weeks. I'm thankful I can see my son when he's hiding from me. I'm thankful I can drive us where we need to go. I'm thankful that mother headed for her bus has good little helper, just like I do. 

And I'm thankful for the humbling moment I got in the back corner of the library and the reminder of just how blessed I am.