"We're Off to See the Wizard"

My parents have always been my greatest support system but since I got married and moved in with my husband 20 years ago, they don’t really know the type of assistance I need to walk. Since my need level can change from minute to minute, I don’t expect them to know how to help me. Sometimes I can’t even figure it out myself.

Whenever my parents come up to visit, my husband and/or daughter are around to help me so when we took 2 cars to my daughter’s play and I went with my parents, I knew it was going to be an adventure. I was in dire need of an arm to hold onto while we crossed the parking lot to steady me on my feet. At that moment, my mom stood on one side of me and my dad stood on the other and they said, “Go ahead and grab onto our arms.” Their arms were at their sides and I had to ask them to bend them so I could feel more secure. Then, they tried to hook my arms into their arms but it was still the wrong way so we had to re-adjust again. Once we finally got situated and started walking across the parking lot, I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and started singing, “We’re off to see the Wizard…” All was well until we reached a gate that only 2 of us could fit through. For some reason, both of my parents went through it and I got pushed out the back. I couldn’t believe it. It was a comedy of errors but a great day.