Well since my last post much has happened. I went on a lovely coffee date with a lovely British gentleman that didn’t pan out, and oh yeah…I broke my foot. So much for the good Karma I was banking.
I wish I could say that I broke my foot doing something amazing like jumping out of a hovering helicopter onto the white powder of a Colorado ski run, or saving a small child from a speeding bus. Alas, it was nothing that exciting. No I broke my foot walking UP a set of stairs at work. Yeah, real sexy. So now I’m in a bright orange cast up to my knee for the next 6 weeks. Though not conducive to finishing my “couch to 5k” program OR meeting attractive, OKC singles…I am hopeful that it will elicit a few “sympathy gifts” from donors. It’s also proving to be an interesting study in human nature.
Having grown up in “The South” I thought we all had good manners. I grew up believing men held doors and pulled out chairs for ladies. I was taught to respect my elders and help those who couldn’t help themselves, which is why I always hold doors open for people in wheel chairs and give up my seat in a waiting room to an elderly person.
What I’ve found since I broke my foot is that apparently the rules of civility no longer apply in today’s age. On a recent trip to Lubbock I had a horrid male flight attendant who not only didn’t offer any help at all to me but proceeded to make me feel like I was ruining his day…if not his life…just for being on his flight and needing a little extra TLC. I was also confronted with a restaurant waiting area full of men sitting down and not one of them got up to offer me their seat. I was appalled by this for three reasons: 1) they were men. Aren’t men supposed to offer their seat to a lady whether she’s able bodied or not? 2) ANY person sitting who sees someone who is clearly disabled/handicapped should, in polite society, give up their seat for that person; 3) I was in FRICKING TEXAS! Don’t those Texas men pride themselves on being gentlemen???
If nothing else, this temporary handicap has made me vastly more attune to offering help when it looks like someone might need it. No one has ever been accused of rudeness for holding a door open for someone with a handicap. It is also reminding me that I cannot do everything myself. I pride myself on my independence, but at the end of the day I need to remember that asking for help doesn’t make me weak…it makes me human. This time has also allowed me the opportunity to be truly grateful to my friends and family who continuously offer their help and support. Not a day goes by that I don’t have a friend offering to do my grocery shopping for me or a neighbor offer to take my trash cans to the street.
Perhaps the lesson to be learned this month is not to come from my volunteer experience at the hands of others but rather through my own personal experience. Perhaps I need to stop relying on bouts of cancer or broken limbs to push me to a grinding halt long enough to express gratitude for all the extraordinary things in my life. Perhaps the lesson is that I need to be more aware, day-to-day, of God’s little graces and do a better job of expressing my gratitude.
With that in mind here is my appreciation list this week: Opal, the best United flight attendant; Larry for lending me an orthopedic scooter for FREE; Trent for coming to pick me up and get me out of the house before I lost my mind; Luz for cleaning my house; my crazy neighbors for taking my trash to the street; May for bringing me a flower today; my friends for helping me up off the floor last night when I fell; Joyce for offering to go to the grocery for me; my parents for coming this weekend to help with chores; Shannon & Ted for my get well card; Aunt Cindy for doing my laundry; the staff at the Overton for making sure I had a handicapped room; and finally the nice lady in line behind me today at lunch who offered to carry my salad to my table for me.
