Day 27: Travelling with a disability

 

    

    I've spent much of my adult life hiding or apologizing for my blessings.  My husband has a good job which, while it brings with it some of its own challenges, has allowed me to be able to raise and homeschool our children without having to work outside the home. We have been very intentional about being good stewards of what God has given us and obeying Him when it comes to our finances.  This comes into play with everything from learning to tithe to obeying Him when He called us to pay off our debts.  This involves being generous with our time, talent, and treasure.  I believe it is a result of God's provision through my husband's income as well as teaching us to manage it well that has us in a place where we are comfortable financially.  But so many of the people in my life or that I encounter are not in this place, so I feel guilty when I talk about opportunities I have, like travel.  I feel like I need to hide it or minimize it.  I even catch myself planning in my head how I will do that.  I don't think that is what I'm supposed to do.  I think (now) that it is ok to give God the glory for the blessings and opportunities He provides for me. I just need to be sensitive about not rubbing it in the faces of those who don't have the same situation.  My counselor described it to me like this: I have the opportunity to travel that others might not, but they have the opportunity to physically be able to work, live without pain, and spend most of their life NOT at the doctors and dealing with their health.  

    So here I go attempting to live my best life unapologetically!  My husband and I have discussed it at length and decided that while there is no certainty about what my future will hold, the odds are high that my independence and mobility are more likely to decrease than increase over time.  What this means is that I shouldn't wait until I'm older and my husband has retired to explore and do the things I want to do - to fulfill my "Bucket List" as it were.  If we're wrong and I do improve, or better yet receive complete physical healing, then I can do these things again with fewer limitations.  In either case, by pursuing these opportunities now I will have memories of wonderful experiences in the future instead of regrets for not doing things when I could.

    I also have the amazing blessings of having a flight attendant for a daughter so I get to fly standby for free, and having a timeshare membership that was gifted to us by a family member.  This means that I can usually travel places with or no airfare costs and stay either free or very inexpensively.  Again, I know that these are not benefits most people have and so in the past I've downplayed them or not mentioned them at all.  

    I took a few extra trips this year that I normally would not have.  In June I traveled to Kauai and my daughter joined me for part of the trip.  In September my husband and I went on an Alaskan cruise, my fourth. Next week I'm travelling alone to Palm Springs for an "Inflammation Vacation."  I learned earlier this year when we visited Palm Springs for our anniversary that the low humidity in Palm Springs did wonders for my inflammation, so while I'm on this brief break in between rounds of Prolo I'm going down for five days to give my body a chance to relax. Ten days later I'm heading to Orlando, Florida for a scouting trip.  My husband and I are heading there for our anniversary next February and I've been so overwhelmed by trying to figure out how Disney World works (I've never been there but I've been to Disneyland a bunch) that I just wanted to put feet on the ground and sort it out in person.  I was also intimidated about non-revving (flying standby) that far so I'm hoping this alleviates my fears.  If not, I still have time to buy tickets if necessary!  Then, in December we are taking our whole family, plus my oldest son's partner, on a cruise to Mexico!  We haven't been on a family trip since 2019, so I'm really looking forward to having us all together for six days :).

    Next year I am being even more intentional with my travel.  As I mentioned in my last post we are looking into getting me a power wheelchair so that I can do more with less energy which should increase my independence.  My husband does not have the freedom in his schedule to travel as much as I do, so I will sometimes be travelling alone.  He has given me a budget with an admonition that he wants me to spend it all.  So, I'm hoping to get somewhere every month next year, even if it's only to our beach house on the coast - which is another blessing in itself.

    I decided that one of the ways that I could bless others through my experiences is to blog about it.  I mentioned in an earlier post how much I enjoy planning travel, so I might begin sharing some of the tips and tricks I've learned along the way as well as resources I've found.  I'd also like to share my experiences travelling with a disability - what goes well and what could stand improvement.  I hope that it will bless someone out there that might otherwise be intimidated to try things.

Here's the thing: I can hide my light under a bushel, but what good does that do anyone?  Do people actually feel better because I don't tell them about the things I get to do?  I doubt it!  I hope that by allowing my light to shine I can help someone as well as allow myself to be truly, completely grateful.