A Handy Fellow

Yesterday I played pick up sticks. I played the game Operation. I went kite flying. I wandered along the boardwalk and stopped to watch the ducks and ducklings in the pond. I raced two little girls until one said, "I'm tired, I'll ride with you and you chase Ruby." I ate hot dogs and played an odd ketchup game. I was the hero who found a place that sold ice cream after dark. It was a good night.

And I feel terrific this morning!

We are up in Gravenhurst where I have meetings over the next couple of days AND, when not doing that, Joe and I will be doing stuff with Marissa, Ruby and Sadie. We love being up here and its really a great place to bring kids. Marissa and I sat and chatted, last night, sitting on the boardwalk while we heard the girls and Joe laughing and talking as they explored the piers. That's living, real living.

This trip is a little different though because we found a company that has wheelchair vehicle rentals. We called them up, booked the MV1, they delivered it to our home, they will pick it up when done, and now it's parked in the parking lot. My power chair is resting from it's vigorous exercise last night and all is good. Having my power chair here has already changed the experience tremendously.

When the girls were kite flying, running as fast as they could, kite flying high after them. I was assigned to run along side them to provide assistance for when the kite crashed and to ensure that they didn't run somewhere dangerous. I discovered I'm good at kites. I didn't know. In the grocery store, where we all met before going to the hotel, I had the girls with me, alone, for a good period of time. I think they know, "Dave loves shopping," and for a kid, an adult who likes to shop is golden. We went and picked flowers for the room, we stopped in the cookie aisle and debated the best cookies to have on hand - we ended with a delightful selection. When we ended up meeting up with Marissa and Joe, I had the truly important shopping in my arms.

After my meetings today we'll be going to Santa's Village which will be a very different experience in my power chair. I know I'm going to be cured of any need to hear Jingle Bells or Rudolph for the next million years but it's going to be fun and the girls are wildly excited.

After our walk yesterday, Sadie was explaining to Joe how when she got tired she got a ride with me. She didn't realize I was behind her listening, it was great to hear her say to Joe about me, "I'm glad you brought him along, he's handy!"

So there you have it. I'm a handy guy to have along, you have it from an unimpeachable source.