Changing Perceptions

The absolute coolest thing EVER happened to me today; it made me so very happy...

I ate lunch today with three friends: two six-foot-tall athletic guys, whom I'll call "Dave" and "John", and "John"'s sister, "Lucy". We had quite a nice time eating together, and after lunch, "Dave", "John" and "Lucy" left the Dining Hall without me. This is not unusual; last year (before I got my crutches) I really could not have kept up with them, and I wouldn't have expected them to restrict themselves for me.

But today I was feeling really wonderful, and I did have my crutches. I came out the door, and shouted, "'John!'" and they all turned around. I continued, "If you wait a moment, I can catch up to you! It'll just be a second!" "Lucy", who did not know me last year, just watched to see what would happen, what I'd do. "Dave" and "John" both stared at me with these looks on their faces, like we all know a moment really means five full minutes, and who do I think I'm kidding?

I decided to just fully enjoy myself without worrying about the consequences. I started almost flying down the path on my crutches: moving them ahead of me and then swinging about two steps past them. Within thirty seconds, I had caught up to my friends. "Dave" stood there grinning at me; "John" stood there just staring in in utter confusion. I turned to "Dave" and said, "Told you;" I turned to "John" and said, "What?" And then I just fell in step with them.

We talked about me and my crutches and the added mobility they give me for a while, and halfway through the conversation, "Lucy" turned to me and declared, "You're awesome, Sarah."