I Am Capable of a Great Many Things

I read a quote by Annette Funicello yesterday. It was, "Life doesn't need to be perfect to be wonderful."

True words. And I'm not just saying that because she's been crippled by the same disease that cripples me, but because she's absolutely correct. Things happen, accidents occur and people get sick, but that doesn't mean we have to ignore all the beautiful, amazing and, yes, wonderful things in life. I mean, I've already been crippled physically by MS, should I let it cripple my psychologically, spiritually and emotionally as well? It's not like being pissed off and angry and living my life like I'm biding my time till there's a cure or I die and am reincarnated as a marathon-running octogenarian is gonna make anything better. It's just gonna waste what I have. And what I have is quite a lot.

I'll Start with The Hubs. He's awesome. We've known each other for 13 years and been together 12 and I still can't get over his awesomeness. Gorgeous, brilliant and funnier than he usually lets on, Hubs has always been amazingly tolerant of my neuroses, malaise and impusivity. He's also proven himself a saint in dealing with my disease. I really, really lucked out with him.

Then there's The Boy. I was never really a kid person before I met him. I held babies awkwardly and cringed when seated next to them on planes or in restaurants. I'd never changed a diaper or even looked after an infant for any amount of time before having him, so deciding to start a family - to bring him into our lives, was a gigantic leap of faith. And it paid off. He's beautiful, smart, sweet and funny. He's also everything a 2 year old is - grumpy, tempestuous and very, very active.

It's that last bit, the active bit, that is really starting to make me even more aware of my disability. He wants to run, I want to sit. He wants a piggy back ride, I want a cuddle. He wants to go for a walk, I have to remain in the back yard and send him out with Hubs.

As sad as that sounds, we're still incredibly lucky. I may not be able to run around with him or hold his hand on long walks, but I can stack blocks with him, roll round on the floor with him, create art with him, practice counting and ABC's with him and I can read to him. I will, in all seriousness, read a half a dozen books 20 times in one day, with all the passion and intensity of James Dean, Marlon Brando or the guy from Blues Clues. My kid can count to 10(minus the 9), say 20 or so letters of the alphabet, say "Please," "thank you," and "bless you" because of me. He's gentle with animals because I've taught him to be so.

So yeah, things may be far from perfect, but I will never be able to get over how wonderful our life is.