My road came to an unexpected halt on November 9, 2010.

I was bicycling to work that morning when a garbage truck drove into a Philadelphia bike lane. I was in that bike lane.

Trauma surgeons saved my life, but they had to amputate my left leg above the knee. The accident changed my body and health forever.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

For more than a decade, that journey has become my way of moving through the world.

I am a person with ability and disability. I travel in the space between. These are my postcards.

Saturday, April 3, 2021

Trust Your "2nd"

Hello from Mile 9406 

...and a time warp!

Where were you in 1998?

I was in a classroom stocked with Mr. Sketch "smelly" markers, an overhead projector, and an endless supply of transparencies...

PowerPoint wasn't a thing yet.  And I didn't own a cell phone.

It was my second day teaching middle school.

That's when Lynne showed up.

"This is your assistant," said a random school administrator.

Five minutes later, we welcomed a class of rowdy teenagers.

We had to roll with it.

I'd never had an assistant, but Lynne and I found our rhythm easily.  

In no time, I trusted her implicitly.  

Sure, on paper she was second in command.  But she could run the show.  (And what a show it was!)

It's good to have a "2nd" you can count on.

Second days aren't like first days -- they're for the long haul. 

See where I'm going here?

It's only the second day of this challenge, and already my energy is flagging.  

I want to walk, but I still have to do my "day job," plus everything else -- like unpacking groceries, doing laundry, making meals, washing dishes, and dealing with a moody leg and digestive system.  

In all the excitement, I forgot to account for the new normal, and the stamina it requires.

(Gulp!)

So at Mile 9,406, I call my Trusted 2nd.

"Hello, 1998?"

In all these years, a lot has changed. 

Lynne's kids have grown up! 
(And so have we.)

But Lynne and I still share a strong connection.  Coincidentally, we've both had major health struggles.  She lives within a "new normal" too.

The second part of our lives has been much harder than the first.

Even if we DID survive teaching middle school!

Do you have a Trusted 2nd?  

A wing woman...
A right-hand man...
A partner-in-crime (or corralling 8th graders...)

Someone you can call - across any distance and any time?

Maybe the relationship has evolved - like phone cords to Bluetooth - but I'm betting that trust stands strong. 

Walk on,
Rebecca

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