Dan pulled me into Barwis yesterday. After I pull up to one of the disabled parking spaces, I know that I just have to open the door and I’m home free. The tricky part is getting out of my car and into my chair in this extreme cold! The cold causes my legs to “seize up” or straighten up tightly so it’s near impossible to bend them to get out of my car. Yesterday, because it still is SUPER cold out was more of the same. I opened my car door and when I realized that my legs weren’t going to bend I leaned back and SLOWLY inched my feet out of the car. I said, “Little by little … Jen, little by little.” I didn’t have to mutter to myself because there is NOBODY outside in the back of Barwis Methods. I haven’t said this proverb to myself in a while so it was nice to hear and remind myself of it’s truth.
Mike pushed me over to the blue table and there were two other people in wheelchairs already there. One person, (Chris?) was getting off of the table and his caregiver was helping him. I said to Mike that I felt like I was in a traffic jam with all these wheelchairs. So, now there were two of us in chairs and one table. Megan had slipped in with Garret and they were on the white table. Mike walked over to Nick to decide who was getting the table. I suggested that they have an arm wrestling contest to decide who gets the table. Mike just kind of rolled his eyes at me. Then I suggested “Paper, Rock, Scissors.” As Nick was headed over to the red mat, Mike told me that my suggestions were “SO juvenile!” I reminded him that I teach middle school. As it was being decided who got the table, I showed Megan my socks for “Wacky Sock Wednesday” #5. She had socks with penguins on them.
Mine had elephants on them. Elephants are my FAVORITE animal! One of the elephants was holding a daisy in his trunk. Not only are the socks purple (my FAVORITE color), but they also have a daisy on them! Jesse and Phil used to call me “Daisy.” My son says that these socks were made with me in mind. I agreed.
The stretch was SO intense that I shoved my sweatshirt sleeve in my mouth to bite down on to stifle a scream. After a stretch, Mike crossed my legs and stepped back. He told me to uncross them by myself. I said to myself over and over, “Little by little, Jen.” It took a long time and I told Mike not to give up on me. Then my legs uncrossed. I yelled, “I did it!” just like Dora the Explorer (my friend, Travis, told me that I look like her when I cut my hair) and Megan repeated that I did it from the other side of the gym just as loudly. She was busy the second time so a different trainer named Mike told my Mike that I did it kind of making fun of me. I told him that I uncrossed my legs twice! I was proud! Mike took that picture of my socks, put my shoes back on, and put me (kind of easily) in the car. I drove home with my legs relaxed and feeling good.