Sunday, May 11, 2008

As most of you know, we were planning our big outings for this weekend because a group called Ride-A-Way offered us the use of a handicapped accessible van for the weekend. It was a Grand Caravan that is fitted with a special automatic sliding door and ramp so that we can put Mark in the car wheelchair and all. It is then hooked into the floor and you’re ready to roll. I picked it up Friday along with one of the other moms who got one as well.

Saturday afternoon Jess and I got Mark in his new, small wheelchair which he likes to call the “Ferrari” (as opposed to the original one which is more like a Hummer). We rolled him out to the van and managed to get him in, bolted in, and buckled up. It was very hot and humid and the two of us were drenched by the time we were ready to go. But we were not deterred and off we went. Mark wanted to head to the bookstore so we went to Barnes and Noble where he shopped for an Eric Clapton CD. Then it was on to dinner at the Bonefish Grill. Mark has been dying for seafood, and although the hospital does serve fish, you would probably prefer dying over eating it. Mark’s new chair is very accessible and he was able to sit at the table just fine and ordered salmon, salad, garlic potatoes and then had Key Lime pie for dessert! He said he felt like an escaped convict. Personally, the best part of my meal was when he asked for his credit card and paid the bill!! It was a wonderful Mother’s Day treat and Jess, Mark and I really enjoyed ourselves. We packed him back up in the van and headed back. Jess and I kind of jumped around for joy after we got back and Mark gave us high fives for a job well done.

Today, we ventured farther by going to my family’s for the day. My cousin, her husband, daughter and son-in-law, son and daughter-in-law and all their children had a wonderful cookout at her daughter’s home. We surprised my aunt by being there. No one told her we were coming, not even the kids. She was delighted. My cousin’s new son-in-law went above and beyond by building a ramp for Mark’s chair to get into the house. It was so much fun for him to see his cousins and their young children. It has been several years since he has seen some and met others for the first time. He especially enjoyed being around the guys, since here he is often overwhelmed by women. They all enjoyed meeting Jess and she didn’t feel strange at all even with the whole crowd of us. Fortunately, she has met some of them before, so that made it a little easier. She thought I was lucky to have such a fun family. So do I!!