Let me pause with Goals and Milestones and take you back to the best day of my convalescence. Paula S. is one of the best friends I have. She and I met about 12-14 years ago (really, that long ago?) on a bike ride that she was the leader of. I was new to riding and she was very experienced. For some reason I kept going back to the ride - probably because I loved riding. Over the years the Chicky Ride as we called it fizzled out. Few others would come and it often wound up being just me and Paula. Occasionally her husband, Warren would come along or ride nearby. The three of us were on the same mountainbike team. Paula and I have been friends through many different jobs, schedules, bikes, injuries, illnesses, etc. We just enjoy riding together and there's no judging; we pretty much can agree on what routes to take most of the time. One cool thing about them is their house is at the bottom of a trail, so we can meet at her house and ride for miles, well we could until May...
Paula and Warren had come over one Saturday (I think) after I got home from TN, brought my dinner and stayed with me so my parents could get out and go to dinner. It was so great to have company that was unrelated and we could talk about other stuff. I love these two more than they probably realize. I truly appreciated them coming over.
Once I got out of the hospital the second time, and after sitting and doing nothing but be captive in my own home, I was going mad. Well Paula had a day off from work and decided to spend her day off with me. Now to me this is pretty amazing. Most people probably have a dozen other things to do other than spend it with someone who can't walk, can't drive and is in a pretty meh mood. None the less, she shows up at my house to claim me and my walker. By now I'm riding in the front seat of my car and can get in and out with minimal assistance. Now what are we going to do on a Monday in the summer with my limitations? We went to the Mill Mountain Zoo. Now we have a small zoo that's perched on top of Mill Mountain. We ride our bikes by it quite frequently, I had been there as a child, but not since. Paula had never been. Well if you go to our zoo you have to park and walk down a long sidewalk or through a garden. Paula was prepared, she had called the zoo to inquire about a wheelchair which they had for loan (no charge) and we could pull right up the entrance, drop me off and she could go park in the staff parking which is a shorter distance away. When we arrived, the people at the zoo were very helpful, they grabbed the wheelchair and held on to my walker so we wouldn't have to drag it around. Let me set this scene a bit. I'm almost 6' tall and weigh ~185lbs (I'm fat right now). Paula is much, much smaller than me. So here she is pushing my fat ass around the zoo (remember it's on top of the mountain so we're not talking flat terrain.) She'd get a running start and up the hills we'd go. Going down the hill was quite amusing as well... and we literally almost got run over by the Zoo Choo once. We got creeped out by the human faced, monkey creature; loved the otters and the cats!
I think we both enjoyed the aviary a lot - we went into to it twice and stayed for the longest time watching the unique birds. We also go stuck down at one of the lower exhibits. Fortunately a male visitor came along and helped get the front wheel of the wheelchair back on one of the platforms. Thanks Mr Stranger!
It honestly was probably one of the funnest days I had last year. Just being juvenile and enjoying the simple things. I think we spent over two hours there - the longest time we just sat at a table under a giant shade tree and talked. It was great. The zoo workers would wander by and chat with us, and we asked them questions about how they fed the animals, where the animals slept, etc. They were fantastic. After we left the zoo, we stopped for food at one of my favorite places then Paula took me for a drive on the Parkway. Sounds simple, but I love seeing my normal bike routes!
I know Paula will eventually read this, so I will just say that I love you friend. You are and truly have been a blessing in my life and I desperately want to get better so we can ride bikes together again.
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| Pic stolen from W's Facebook Page |
Paula and Warren had come over one Saturday (I think) after I got home from TN, brought my dinner and stayed with me so my parents could get out and go to dinner. It was so great to have company that was unrelated and we could talk about other stuff. I love these two more than they probably realize. I truly appreciated them coming over.
Once I got out of the hospital the second time, and after sitting and doing nothing but be captive in my own home, I was going mad. Well Paula had a day off from work and decided to spend her day off with me. Now to me this is pretty amazing. Most people probably have a dozen other things to do other than spend it with someone who can't walk, can't drive and is in a pretty meh mood. None the less, she shows up at my house to claim me and my walker. By now I'm riding in the front seat of my car and can get in and out with minimal assistance. Now what are we going to do on a Monday in the summer with my limitations? We went to the Mill Mountain Zoo. Now we have a small zoo that's perched on top of Mill Mountain. We ride our bikes by it quite frequently, I had been there as a child, but not since. Paula had never been. Well if you go to our zoo you have to park and walk down a long sidewalk or through a garden. Paula was prepared, she had called the zoo to inquire about a wheelchair which they had for loan (no charge) and we could pull right up the entrance, drop me off and she could go park in the staff parking which is a shorter distance away. When we arrived, the people at the zoo were very helpful, they grabbed the wheelchair and held on to my walker so we wouldn't have to drag it around. Let me set this scene a bit. I'm almost 6' tall and weigh ~185lbs (I'm fat right now). Paula is much, much smaller than me. So here she is pushing my fat ass around the zoo (remember it's on top of the mountain so we're not talking flat terrain.) She'd get a running start and up the hills we'd go. Going down the hill was quite amusing as well... and we literally almost got run over by the Zoo Choo once. We got creeped out by the human faced, monkey creature; loved the otters and the cats!
I think we both enjoyed the aviary a lot - we went into to it twice and stayed for the longest time watching the unique birds. We also go stuck down at one of the lower exhibits. Fortunately a male visitor came along and helped get the front wheel of the wheelchair back on one of the platforms. Thanks Mr Stranger! 
It honestly was probably one of the funnest days I had last year. Just being juvenile and enjoying the simple things. I think we spent over two hours there - the longest time we just sat at a table under a giant shade tree and talked. It was great. The zoo workers would wander by and chat with us, and we asked them questions about how they fed the animals, where the animals slept, etc. They were fantastic. After we left the zoo, we stopped for food at one of my favorite places then Paula took me for a drive on the Parkway. Sounds simple, but I love seeing my normal bike routes! I know Paula will eventually read this, so I will just say that I love you friend. You are and truly have been a blessing in my life and I desperately want to get better so we can ride bikes together again.
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