A little rain never hurt anyone...

This morning I felt a bit mean...and I guess slightly nuts. As I headed off to my personal trainers house at the ungodly hour of 5:30am for a 6am start it was dark, cold and rainy. When I arrived at our meeting point I noticed a text, asking if I wanted to continue in the rain. I did. Two minutes later my PT arrived and I made the poor woman stand out in the cold, in the rain, with a back injury as she took me through some hills work.

Now that I'm back in the warmth of my house I'm feeling mean. Sorry K. What a crazy moo I am. Is this called dedication and commitment or is it just downright crazy obsession? I guess it's a fine line, right? 

My body has changed a lot. It's lean. Possibly a little too lean. I don't know. I see ribs and bones and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or what? K wants me to put on some muscle weight so I'm drinking protein shakes. The dormant ex-ano side of my brain kind of cowers at the idea of putting on weight but the louder, well side knows it's a good thing. It means health and strength. I know this. Still, the ano-voice still whispers and I don't like it.

In other news I am having an enforced day off today. Last week I booked my car in for today to have its 30,000km service. I'd sorted it all out to have it dropped off at the Ford Service Centre by 8am and then I'd make it to the train station in time to catch the 8:42am into work. 

I didn't count on there being a fire at Richmond train station last night, causing today's train services into complete and utter chaos. Most if not all trains on my line have been cancelled. So...you know...I have to be home today. I am so "devastated" I think I might throw myself a party to cheer myself up!

You know what they say, "The best laid plans of mice and men..." and all that jazz!

Wot Cheezus Meofff!

Rooooar!

(inspiration from Hey Hey It's Saturday in case you were wondering.)

I had an incident of the street sexual harassment kind this afternoon which kind of got me a bit cheesed off. Don't worry. I'm not freaked out or anything, in fact I casually flipped him the bird and continued on my merry way...but still. I wonder if street punks like that think they're doing me a favour or something, as though I'm starved for male attention. Chances are they're just being tools. 

Anyway, I thought I'd compile a list of Wot Cheezus Meofff - aka "Pet Peeves as a person of short stature." These are in no particular order. 

1. "How's the weather down there?" - unoriginal and annoying.

2. "Oops! I dropped something? Can you pick it up seeing you're closer to the ground?" - still takes effort you lazy sod.

3. Camera phones - now I can no longer say, "Take a picture, it lasts longer!" because chances are you already have, put it on your Facebook/Twitter and shared it with all your bogan friends.

4. Young men who think wolf whistling and blowing kisses at me is meant to be a compliment because I'm so starved of male attention. No. It's not. It's unwanted sexual harassment. And I'm not starved of male attention. At all. 

5. Parents who "shush" their kids or whack them when they want to ask a question or if they're just simply looking at me curiously. Kids are CURIOUS! I know that. It's ok! So don't punish them for doing what comes naturally! It perpetuates the notion that disability or physical difference is something we shun, run away from or is embarrassing. Polite questions are always welcome.

6. Christians who think that it's wrong to have a passion outside of church and directly serving God. "You are called to serve God, so you shouldn't be following your passion to be a Personal Trainer or a painter or a talented dancer or champion tiddlywinks player!" Sorry Christian but my walk is my walk and you are not in my  shoes. Take care of your own life thanks!

7. Small sized clothing - mainly underwear and shoes - being placed on top shelves or racks. Good grief! Where's the logic in that? 10A bras are on the TOP rack whereas the 18-triple enormous are on the BOTTOM! What the????

8. Occupational Health & Safety. No longer am I allowed to grab a chair and stand on it to reach something/see better. I've got to wait until the proper equipment is there or I have to ask someone, cos you know...I might just hurt my wee self. Puhlease! I've been climbing and making do since...Noah built the ark. Don't take my independence away because of OH&S! (We won't mention the fact that I fell off a ladder the other night!)

9. Customer service staff *coughYarraTramscough* who think I can't read a tram timetable and actually read it for me. I've been catching the same tram for ten years. I got it, ok?

10. Assumptions about what kind of baby would be "easier" for me to cope with. Don't get me started on this one. Just don't.

11. People talking in movie theatres. This has nothing to do with being short statured, I know...but if you want to discuss the movie when the movie is on, how about you wait till it comes out on BlueRay or DVD and watch it from the comfort of your living room, ok?

12. Insisting that you know who I am because you knew me when I lived in the same town as you...when I've never even been there! Sometimes I can tell these people, "No, I never lived in Upper Combukta West!" and they will STILL say, "Yes you did! Back in 1952!" 

A) I'm not that old.

B) I do know where I've lived

C) you insisting does not make it so.

All people with dwarfism are not identical. Strange, but true! *smirk*

There's a few. 

Feeling better now. Glad I got that out!

Have you got pet peeves you'd like to share? Go on! It's good for you! :)

Recharging

My favorite spot.

Well I was born in the sign of water

And it's there that I feel my best.

The albatross and the whale they are my brothers.

Cool Change - The Little River Band

Over the past few days I've been struggling with my moods. I've been feeling down and tired...and just generally low. Not even an 8.5km run on Saturday was enough to pull me out of it. In fact, I felt pretty terrible after it - run down and actually stiff and sore to be honest. 

This morning I felt the pull to be by the water again. I love the sea, the ocean, the bay. The sea is where I feel calm and everything slows down to a rhythm I can identify with. It's like a slow, even heart beat.

So earlier this evening I drove down to the beach and just sat right on the waters edge. The sun was slowly sinking and the sky was a mixture of orange and blue and tinges of green. I closed my eyes and listened to the gentle lapping of the waves, felt the soft whisper of the breeze and I felt my thoughts slowing as I breathed with the rhythm of the ocean.

I wish we lived a little closer to the sea; close enough to run down there in the morning and just be. I think I may have only been there no more than fifteen minutes this evening but it was just the boost I needed as I head into this week.

Do you have a place you need to go to to recharge?

Spurred on!

Ok, I have to admit that since taking on this whole running thing I've doubted myself at times.

Before I ran the 15k Run for the Kids I was scared...and I had to argue with myself to actually do it. Part of me was saying, "You don't have to run you know. You've paid your entry fee. That's all they need. It can be your contribution to the Good Friday Appeal. You don't actually have to show up."

But I showed up, ran it and survived it. And I'm so glad I did.

Now Kara and I are in training for a half marathon. That's 21.1km in case you're wondering. That distance seems.....daunting.

After that we'll head into training for a marathon. That's 42.19km.

Just looking at that number seems enormous....but I have to remember that once upon a time a full lap around the reserve across the road from my house seemed enormous too.

I don't know if I'll be the first woman with dwarfism in Australia to run a marathon. I'm interested to find out. I do know however that there have been other people with dwarfism who have ran in and completed marathons.

Over the past 24 hours though I have gained inspiration from three athletes who all ran the Boston Marathon. These three athletes have different forms of dwarfism. I was particularly interested in the running career of Juli Windsor who became the first woman with dwarfism to complete the famous Boston Marathon.

Image credit

You can read about Juli's story in this article in The Marietta Daily Journal.

As soon as I saw Juli's photo and read about her run I thought, "Right! That's it! I can do it!"

(My kids know I mean serious business when they hear, "Right! That's it!")

Danh Trang and John Young also competed in this years Boston Marathon. Unfortunately John had to pull out in the middle of the race due to illness (unrelated to his stature) however I am sure he would have completed it otherwise.

Wow. Just wow I tell you! I know I can now. Not even my age is going to stop me. I've got a good 15 - 20 years on these guys too. Bring it on.

Ain't nothin' gonna stop us!

We did Disney

We interrupt current musings to bring you some light and colour and fantasy courtesy of our DISNEYLAND TRIP!

Hooray!

Now I know there are all sorts of people out there with many and varied thoughts and feelings and opinions about the corporation that is Disney, but let's all forget that for a while shall we? Drop it all at the door as you leave the world of today and enter the world of fantasy.

I love Disney. I don't enter into all the psychology of whether or not Disney Princesses are suitable role models for young girls. Honestly, I couldn't give two hoots. Really. I think it's all a bunch of hoo-ha adults have just applied to an innocence that belongs to children and that they have forgotten.

I grew up watching the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights with my family. Babes In Toyland, Tom Thumb, Old Yeller bring back particularly happy memories. I loved watching The New Mickey Mouse Club in the 70's and my dearest wish was to own a pair of Mickey ears like all the Mouseketeers. I have vivid memories of watching Annette Funicello from the original Mouseketeers but of the Mouseketeers of my childhood the only names I remember are Lisa Whelchel and Mindy Feldman, despite the fact that I adored all of them. As a really little girl I "flew" around the loungeroom with my brothers as we played a 45" record of some of the songs to Peter Pan. To this day I know every single word to You Can Fly, What Makes the Red Man Red? and Following The Leader. Between the ages of four to twelve, I wasn't thinking about the psychological influences princesses such as Snow White, Aurora and Cinderella were having on me. They were cartoons! They weren't real....but they were fun to watch.....and that's where it began and ended.

I was more interested in Mickey & Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy anyway.

As a child, going to Disneyland was my ultimate dream.

I cannot believe that as an adult I've now been twice. I now own those much coveted Mickey ears, embroidered with my very own name.

My daughter Chloe documented our Disneyland 2014 trip with video. She's editing it at the moment and has shown me bits and pieces of it. On the first day you can hear Georgia and I giggling with excitement as we entered Main St. I love that. I love that we just leave our grown up, responsible selves outside the gates and allow ourselves to become excited little children again.

I take this sign very seriously!

There should be more of it. Being a grown up is extremely overrated.

Day 1: Chloe's birthday. Very excited! I was especially excited because this time we could see the CASTLE! In 2004 it was covered in scaffolding. 

Disneyland is known as "The Happiest Place On Earth" and for Chloe's birthday it really felt like it was. Our first stop was to get her a birthday badge from the Town Hall in Main St. After that it was like every second person would wish her a happy birthday - Disneyland staff (also known as "Cast Members"), ride operators, waiters, strangers....everyone! It was pretty cool.

The crowds were huge, but we had a wonderful time. Last time we were at Disneyland you would be able to go straight to the front of a queue if you were in a wheelchair and wanted to go on a ride. Since then they have streamlined the process so that it is fair and equitable for all guests. They have introduced the "Return Pass" whereby you go to the Wheelchair Entrance (usually at the Exit) and get a Pass that gives you a window of time in which you can return and go on the ride - say for example you wanted to go on Pirates of the Carribean. The Cast Member would give you a slip of paper to say that you could return between 10:15am and 11:15am and you'd be able to go on the ride pretty much straight away. We found it really convenient because you could book Return Passes for several rides in succession and just go off and enjoy other attractions.

One of my favorites is the "World Famous Jungle Cruuuuuuise!" 

Of course there were rides the girls couldn't go on, but in their selfless way they encouraged Tim and I to go.

Here we are waiting to go on The Matterhorn! We waited an HOUR to go on it.


Part of the Disneyland experience is meeting the characters. DO NOT tell me that they're just suits. They're not! We really did meet the REAL Minnie, Mickey, Pooh and everyone else. Real I tell ya! REAL!

Minnie is Chloe's favorite. She is as sweet as....and VERY popular. The line to meet Minnie is something like an hour long!

All in all we had four days in Disneyland and California Adventures. Near the end of our time we kind of felt like locals and knew the park like the back of our hand.

This dude is known as "our biggest fan". He is there every time we do our very own parade down Main Street.

Actually we watched a couple of parades - ones that we didn't participate in!

We had a magical time. Just magical, even though it was crowded, even though we weren't able to use our motorised wheelchairs, even though we experienced a 5.1 magnitude earthquake at 9:30pm on the Friday night when we were waiting to go on Pirates of the Carribean for the second time and had to evacuate the park. Honestly, it was fantastic. 

When we were there in 2004 I made a wish at the Wishing Well. I wished that we would one day return to Disneyland. It came true! This time I didn't wish the same thing. I wished for something more close to home and personal. It's my dearest wish at the moment.  I hope beyond hope it comes true. It's starting to already!

But I do hope we get to go back again one day!

Time! Time! Whose got the time?

You know things have stepped up a notch when you decide you'll have an easy week and just do a couple of 5k runs.

Just because you're taking it easy.

I still find it all ridiculously amusing to be honest. A five kilometre run...easy. Weird!

Anyway, I've decided to work on improving my times now. Yesterday morning I experimented by setting goals every five minutes using my RunKeeper app. After 5 minutes I'd run 600m - which for me is a pretty good pace - so I set my next goal to be at at least 1.2k after the next five minutes...then 1.8k...and so it went. (This is also working on my appalling maths skills!) I maintained that pace throughout the run and ended up with an average pace of 8.09m/k for a distance of 5.72km. It took me 46min 36sec. Fastest time ever.

What I was surprised by was my body's ability to maintain a steady, faster pace and then it's ability to go faster when I could see the end in sight.

I think I'm fitter than I realise. 

Owning It

Ok, so not the clearest shot...but whatever...you get the picture.

All my adult life I've felt as though I've been pretending. Maybe it's like that for a lot of other adults too. I'd be interested to hear from other adults after reading this post.

I don't know why this is. I don't know if it's because I occupy this body. I'd love to explore the psychology behind it. I've always said. "I only feel different when someone points it out to me, or reminds me, or tells me I am."

Truth is, I've struggled with feeling like a "real" anything.

I never felt like a real teenager.

I've struggled with feeing like a real woman.

I was never really having sex.

Getting pregnant before marriage was something that didn't really happen "to people like me".

And how could I really be "Mum" to that baby they just placed in my arms and told me was mine?

Of course the natural consequences of certain actions kind of shot those illusions in the face.

I've been a mother for 28 years, someone's significant other for 29 years and an "official" adult for almost 30 years and all this time I've felt as though I've been "playing grown ups". There have been times I've thought, "I'm not old enough for this s#!%!" There have been times I haven't known what to do so have just bungled my way through until I've worked it out the way I think it should be done. When the kids have come to me for advice it's like we're all just trying to work it out together. Sometimes they're the ones to pull me into line because I say and do the most ridiculous things.

Today that all kind of confronted me when someone commented, "You look like a REAL runner!" after seeing this photo.

To which I replied:

"Maybe because I am a real runner. :-)"

I didn't take it as an insult. In fact, I truly appreciated the comment because it moved me towards claiming for myself what is really true. And as I said that I was a REAL runner I felt a sense of pride and acceptance.

I am no longer just pretending, playing house, playing grown ups, dressing up.

I am REAL.

And I am a runner. A REAL runner. 

.

Just Play It Loud, Ok?

I'm out of distractions.

A goal has been reached and I'm in that silence between that and setting the next.

I guess the 15k was my distraction that took my focus. That and Disneyland I suppose. (Which I'm yet to write about properly, it's in draft form. It's coming, ok?)

Now I'm out of distractions and the silence is back. It's the silence in which there are too many things I don't want to think about.

You know when I'm in not such a good spot by the music I listen to...and the music I listen to is the total opposite to what you'd think.

Driving guitars and thunderous drums are the tunes of the moment.

I'm quiet, my immediate environment is not. Not by a long shot. I turned it all way up in the car today. Right to the max. 

And the louder it gets the quieter I get, the more still I get. 

I asked to do some boxing in my next training session.

Yes you can

I've had people say to me, "I couldn't do what you do. I couldn't run a kilometre, let alone fifteen."

To which I reply, "Yes you could."

I didn't start out by one day saying, "Hmm...I think I'll run 10k today." Not by a long shot. 

I've written on here before about how when I first started running I barely got to the 100 metre mark before I slowed to a walk and just walked the rest of the way around the reserve across the road (about a kilometre). I felt so unfit, so unhealthy, despite the fact that I wasn't overweight.

Just because you're not overweight doesn't mean that you're healthy.

But see, the thing was I wanted to be able to run. I wanted to be fit and healthy and strong. 

And so I went after what I wanted. I kept running that 100m until it didn't hurt so much and I could control my breathing and then I pushed it a little further...and then a little further...and then further still. I didn't set unrealistic goals. I'd reach an achievable goal and then just stay with that distance for a while until I knew it was time to challenge myself.

And the secret is I stuck with it. I didn't give up. I didn't give in, even when I wanted to stay in bed and pike out on exercising that day; even when it was winter and cold and dark and raining.

That's the thing. IF YOU WANT IT BAD ENOUGH THEN YOU'LL STICK WITH IT.

No, it doesn't come easy. It's not MEANT to be easy. It takes WORK. It takes COMMITMENT. There's no easy way out. There's no quick fix or shortcut. Being at my current level of fitness has taken me THREE years to achieve. It's taken me three years to gain some muscle. Over that time I've also lost five kilos - something I wasn't really planning on but it happened all the same. Five kilos doesn't sound like much in the grand scheme of things but it makes my doctor happy because he was hoping I could get back to pre-baby weight. Pre-baby was when I was 19 years old. I thought he was dreaming! Apparently he wasn't. 

My encouragement to you is, find what you really want and go for it. What you want will most likely be completely different to what I want. Good! Be prepared to put in the hard yards. You want to lose those extra kilos? Then you have to want it bad enough to put in the hard work. It takes commitment! It doesn't come easy. You want to improve your fitness and strength and stamina? Then you have to want it bad enough to get up, get out there and move that body. Find something you love doing and do it. Find something you've always wanted to do and start doing it. It may be running, dancing, tennis, golf or basketball. It may be losing weight. It may be learning an instrument, or singing. It may even be cultivating an abundant vegetable garden or sewing your own quilt or knitting a blanket. Whatever it is, go for it and put in the work you need to do to get there.

No, it's not easy. It's not meant to be. But trust me, the rewards are incredible. You'll feel amazing - body, soul, mind and spirit.

Run for the Kids 2014

In High School if anyone told me that as an adult I would actually love running I would have laughed in their face.

In High School I actively avoided the Cross Country. I think I went in it once, maybe twice - once in Year 7 then again in Year 8. I don't know how I got out of it in the other years. 

I used to dread, dread, dread compulsory Physical Education classes in Years 7-10. Those first few weeks of the year were always spent on fitness tests and for those first few weeks my muscles would be screaming out in agony after enduring shuttle runs and burpees and jumping jacks and all those other kinds of exercises that made a very unfit teenager very self-conscious. Doing those running laps around the perimeter of the school was, for me, torture. 

I guess it was more about my lack of self-esteem and a negative body image than anything. Oh to go back and tell that young girl a thing or two!

Yesterday I lined up with over 35,160 other Melburnians who participated in the annual Run for the Kids Fun Run. (surely they use the word "fun" very loosely!) I couldn't help but smile at the irony. Me, who used to avoid running like the plague, lining up to run 15km. Who'd have thunk it?

Run for the Kids is a charity close to my heart. Over the past 28 years my family and I have gotten to know the Royal Children's Hospital intimately. We've been through Genetics, Bone Dysplasia, Orthotics, Orthopaedics, X-ray, MRI, Clinical Photography, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Scoliosis, Spinal Clinics, ENT Specialists, Physiotherapy, Social Work, Emergency and Intensive Care. We've waited in waiting rooms, paced the corridors, played in the Starlight Room, slept by bedsides, lost the plot in Emergency, cried with other parents. We've met the most incredible people. We're on first name basis with many doctors who have watched us grow up and then watched our children grow up. We've educated them about our conditions as much as they have been there to take care of us. 

The champions are the nurses who have been there for us day and night when we have been admitted to any ward. They are the frontline warriors who become your friend, your comfort when everything is unfamiliar and sometimes scary. They sit and talk to a child when they're feeling sad or afraid or sore. They explain things in words children can understand. They make a cup of tea for anxious parents. They help keep us sane. 

To give back to such a wonderful place of caring and healing just goes without saying for me. I was grateful this year to have a friend running too. 

Pre-race selfies are a prerequisite! Kara (my trainer) and me!

Kara and I had been training for the 15km course for months. In spite of this, it was rough. My whole aim was to finish it and finish well. I didn't care about my time. It was all about getting it done. 

The memories of our 28 years with the Royal Children's Hospital were what kept me going - through the Domain Tunnel, over the Bolte Bridge and then back into the city via Docklands, Harbour Esplanade, Collins St, Spencer St, Southbank, through the Alexandra Gardens and then back on to St Kilda Road to the finish line. For a short while I ran with a staff member from the RCH. She was as tall as I am short. She said I looked familiar and I told her that all of my four children had been inpatients and outpatients at the Children's. I told her that she looked familiar too. She said she worked in Radiology and MRI, so undoubtedly we have crossed paths more than once. We've spent a lot of time there. It was good to run with someone for a while. We kind of kept pace with each other up that excruciating hill that is the Bolte Bridge. 

To say I was hurting when I crossed the finish line would be an understatement. 

Photo courtesy of Kara.

But I did it. I finished it. And, unlike my results in PE at school.....I didn't come last. I don't care that it took me over two hours to do it. Once upon a time I didn't think I'd be able to walk 15km let alone run it! I'm in awe of Craig Mottram - former Olympian and World Championship medallist - who completed the 15k in 44 minutes. Who does that? I can't even......what? 

Next year I'll do it again. Next year it will be all about getting a better time. This year I wanted to see if I could do it. I think I've answered that question.

Thanks to the four most incredible human beings on this planet who continue to be my source of strength every day. Sarah, Chloe, Tim and Georgia - you are my reason. You kept me going when every muscle screamed at me to stop. I would run to the ends of the earth for you.

And thanks to Kara, an awesome friend who generously trains me probono, who believes I can and sometimes pushes me harder than she'd push someone else because she knows there's strength down there that I'm not even aware of. I'm so grateful for that. 

Are you there God? It's me, Leisa.

Image source

*nods in the direction of Judy Blume*

We're back from the States. We've been back a week. To say that jet lag has been unkind would be an understatement. Being confused about where I am in time and space is another. I'm looking forward to getting back into the rhythms of this life again. I'm looking forward to settling in with the ebb and flow of here.

Since being away it's felt as though the need to write online is dying. After many years I'm coming to a place where I question if I should continue. Being away gave me the space to simply inhabit the now and it was good. I felt solid and private; as though I wasn't desperately trying to put the pieces of my life together into some less confusing order. There were times that things still didn't make sense and I was overwhelmed with the largeness of circumstance and the depth of my own emotion but somehow that was ok. I just went with the flow of the moment and did what needed to be done to get through.

Maybe that's what life is all about really. Staying present in each moment and riding the current without fighting it so you can stay alive and get through.

I am tired of fighting the current. I am tired of wondering why things are the way they are and crying into the howling wind about the unfairness of it all. I've learned that there are no answers. Sometimes I don't even believe there's a purpose to things. Things just happen and when they do you just have to roll up your sleeves and get into the business of making the most of what it is. Sometimes I think we lose way too much sleep looking for the meanings of things. Sometimes there are no meanings. It just is. 

I think once I really accept and grasp this concept I will gain even more peace.

Does God exist?

Maybe.

Is he intimately interested in every small aspect of my life?

Probably not.

I don't know why I ruminate on this. I guess because these two questions had definite, positive answers when I was growing up. I think it's interesting that they don't now. I turn these questions over in my mind the way a child would turn over an interesting shell or pebble they found in their hand. 

No longer having definite answers to these two questions has made me less angry and resentful. There's no one to blame. It just is. 

Having a few circumstances happen in the USA where there was nothing to do but roll up our sleeves and formulate a Plan B and even Plan C was the first time in forever that I didn't meet the circumstances with a howling "Why????" into the wind. I just accepted that it just was and we went to Plan B on the fly. No it wasn't fair and I admit that I went into the new situations with frozen, dogged determination, sucking the marrow out of every fun experience we possibly could. Dwelling on the "Why?" was pointless. Wasting my time trying to change the circumstance was not going to happen. I didn't want to use up that kind of energy. I thought that a $40 taxi ride to the local Walmart and searching fruitlessly for something that wasn't to be found was enough. The next day I spent an entire day away from the situation. A whole day by the pool and spa. It helped.

Memo to self: Do that more often; times where you don't talk about, think about or deal with it. Give yourself a break for crying out loud.

Where to from here? I'm not sure really. Something has switched...or something has died...I don't know. I'm trying to work out if that's a good thing. Maybe the bigness of life has finally killed off the last vestiges of the Leisa who would fight on. Maybe she has simply relinquished the illusion of any kind of control and is finally  content to just be.

Either way, something's changed. It's silent and empty.

Maybe this is where I finally find God.

Independence Machine

Yesterday the kids and I returned from a nine day trip to Los Angeles, California. Anaheim to be exact. Anaheim, as everyone knows, means Disneyland and that was our reason for going. Chloe determined on her 23rd birthday in 2013 that she wanted to celebrate her 24th Birthday in the Happiest Place on Earth so she set about planning for it to happen. She researched everything and found accessible accommodation close to the Park, the flights she needed to take, how to take a motorised wheelchair on a plane, how to get from LAX to the motel. She even researched tipping etiquette. All of us saved for a year to make it happen.

Her sister Sarah had already gone over to the USA with her wheelchair and had no problems charging it with the power point adaptors provided. A friend of hers who was familiar with electronics had warned her that she would need some kind of a transformer to convert the power to the appropriate amps for the chargers, however when she got there she found that the transformer wasn't needed and the chair charged without any issue.

So, when it came time for us to trip over to California this time we thought everything would be the same and we left the transformer in the shed at home...

The thought that there may be a problem never entered our heads. On getting to our hotel we were alarmed to discover that the adaptors we had only delivered 10 amps. The chargers needed 24 amps. The chairs weren't charging. 

The one thing we hadn't planned for was happening. The girls had no means of getting around. Unless we hired push wheelchairs we were going to be confined to the motel for eight days.

Luckily the ever-helpful and cheery Andrew from the Menage Hotel in Anaheim saved the day and hired some chairs for us. Bright and early the next morning he delivered them to our door. Sure they were costing us $20 per chair per day but at least we had transportation!

It was the best option we had. No, the girls didn't have their independence and had to rely on Tim and myself to push them everywhere they needed to be, but we were out and about, and that was the main thing. We still had fun...just a different kind of fun than we had planned for.

But see that little white box on the bottom left hand corner of the picture? Oh how we longed for that little white box sitting uselessly in the shed hundreds of thousands of kilometres away!

I've never understood the mindset of those who view wheelchairs as a more "inferior" way of getting around - as though by having one and using one is a second rate option to walking. Do people not realise that not having one when you need one is actually the factor that "makes" you disabled? In their chairs the girls can do anything, go anywhere, be totally independent. They can plan their own days, catch up with friends, sightsee, explore, make their own purchases and take their own sweet time doing so. They can separate from a group and say, "I'll meet you *here* at *this* time." They can access everything they need to and more.

The week without their chairs meant that none of the above happened - for ALL of us. Don't get me wrong, we had the most amazing, wonderful, adventurous holiday and we'd do it all again in a heartbeat, but there were more considerations to make. None of us could be totally free and independent if we wanted to be. The girls had to consider the energy levels and stamina of the two people who were assisting them. The two people assisting them had to consider the needs and wants of the girls, ensuring that they too got the most out of their holiday experience. Sometimes communicating all this was difficult....but we all tried as best we could. Each of us were acutely aware of the feelings, needs and wants of each other. We relaxed, but not as much as we planned.

We're home now and the electric wheelchairs are on charge; sucking up as many amps as they need. We learned a valuable lesson these holidays - plan as best you can but expect the totally unexpected. Have a back up plan. 

But whatever happens, suck the most fun as you can out of every single moment!