Acts of Resilience

Even from bed, I can hear that the streets are wet.

My apartment is cozy.  My socks are dry.  And (eventually) I'm dressed for work.

My phone says 100% chance of rain.  

I don't want to get soaked, so I decide it's too wet to walk.

There's always a tiny sense of failure in this decision.  While I want to stay dry, I know my leg will fit better -- and my body will FEEL better -- if I get out there.

To walk or not to walk??  

Final test:  I peer down from the living room window at the cars driving by below.

Wipers are... OFF!

Walk is ON!

Superhero boots?  Check.

Long raincoat?  Check.

Umbrella?  Check.  (Awkward to carry, but good to have just in case!)  

Truth -- By the time I reach the sidewalk, it isn't raining much at all.  It's not even that puddle-y.

And the best surprise:  I'm not the only one out!

Mike the artist sits on his usual bench with a big red umbrella.  Friends Richard, John and Carol are at their regular perch in the window of Starbucks.  (I knock and wave as I pass.  We see each other everyday!)

I've been thinking lately about acts of resistance and rebellion.  How, by pushing my own limits, I seem to push back on society's idea of what it means to be "disabled" -- or "able."

Morning miles are one example.  On a very tiny scale.

For an above-knee amputee, walking takes 60-100% more energy than it does for a person with 2 legs.  That means by the end (or even the middle) of the day, I might not have enough left in the tank.

But at 7 AM?  I'm game!

On the way back, the message in this shop window catches my eye.  And I realize what I'm doing isn't quite an act of resistance -- or rebellion.

It's an act of RESILIENCE.

We all need a few short minutes each day to fill our superhero boots -- and take on the world.

These are mine.