Thank you

[cjsmith]

Thank you all for your thoughtful and supportive comments on my "gimp social life" post. Folks made many good points.

- Yes, a scooter would help an awful lot for outings involving movem um, "outings" do tend to involve movement, don't they? I plan to get one as soon as I decide which one is lightest/smallest/easiest-to-transport/reliable/cheap and as soon as I'm pretty sure I'm never going to get better (they're pricey, so I don't want to buy it just to have it for a year). Soon. I'll probably buckle down and get to it soon. I've test-driven several models now.

- Yes, which activities people are doing makes a *big* difference. Anything with the words "explore" or "see" should be planned much more carefully than events with words such as "crafts" or "pot luck". :)

As some of you probably guessed, my main frustration is with myself. If asked to label myself two years and change ago, I would have said: "runner, hiker, camper, backpacker, square dancer, square dance caller, pilot, computer programmer, owned by cats". Scanning down that list will give some idea of how big a shift this is for me. It will take time before I'm comfy in my new life. My thanks for all the words of support.

Comments

3. support

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I'm incredibly grateful for it. People are being really nice, and it means a lot to me.

I suspect it helps that this problem is (at two years and a bit) still fairly new. I haven't worn people out with my complaining. That will happen, for some. I also haven't leaned on people too much yet. That may happen, for a kindhearted soul or two, before I learn when to back off. Goodness knows that in the past I've had one or two people lean on me so much for so long that I've had to distance myself. I hate it, but it happens. There will also come a time when the majority of people I know have never known me without my gimpiness, and they'll presume I adjusted long ago.

Fortunately, the biggest outpouring of support happens to time well with my overwhelming need for it: the adjustment period! It does make a huge difference in my outlook. Feeling gimpy is bad enough without feeling abandoned.

Re: 3. support

[airporter.livejournal.com]

I doubt you'll ever wear people out with complaining, but should it happen with a soul or two, remember that they have a responsibility to you as well, to tell you where there limits are, when they need a break, when you can help them and how.

It makes friendships stronger.