The room is suddenly quiet.
We stopped in Ottawa on the way home from lecturing in the Maritimes. It was the perfect opportunity to visit with Mike, Marissa, Ruby and Sadie. We had a full day of movies and swimming and pizza and talking. It was a wonderful way to end a wonderful trip. I'd left Fredericton and Summerside feeling like we were part of one huge family of service and then came to Ottawa and experienced a very different kind of family.
But.
We're going home. I've always liked going home after a trip and my disability has intensified that a hundred-thousand fold. Home is more than a place where we are surrounded by the familiar and feel safe in four walls. Home is a place where I am least faced with access issues, everything is user friendly. From the unmentionables in the washroom to the very visible in the front room, my home is a place where Dave's mobility is maximized because everything is tailor made to work for me.
Home now means a place where there my disability is cause for no battle, my disability is cause for no grudging accomodation, my disability is, instead, a foundation for a very personal design. It's awesome. It's a place of welcome and a place of rest. I love going home.
Travelling means never knowing what's waiting around the corner. Home means never fearing what's around the corner - cause what waits for you, was made for you.
Ah.
Home.
A lovely post, Dave. It brings to mind many homecomings, where the very walls seemed to hug me in welcome as I entered. Glad you and Joe are back safe and sound!
ReplyDeleteExactly Dave.
ReplyDeleteHi Dave,
ReplyDeleteI work at a sexual assault crisis centre and desperately wanted to attend your workshop in Fredericton this past weekend. Unfortunately, I was busy training volunteers for our crisis line and was unable to attend. I've been reading your blog for three or four years now - I started reading during my work with NBACL - and think you are a genius communicator... not only about disability issues but also about the life, the universe, and everything. :)
One of our current volunteers was able to attend your workshop and I jokingly suggested that she get your autograph because I am such a fan. To my surprise, she showed up that afternoon with your signature. So, I just wanted to say thanks and I hope you come 'round these here parts again. :)
I feel that way about my "home", too.
ReplyDeleteAnd, we're still happy to be out here, working hard, to give more people the opportunity to feel that way about their "home".
Hold positive thoughts for us and them!
When I was a kid, I remember that whenever my mom got home from a trip, she would walk into her bedroom, drop her bags on the floor, and say, in a warm, loving tone of voice, "Hello, bed!"
ReplyDeleteNow that I'm older, I so understand what she meant. Ah, home. Ah, bed.