Venting & Preparing for New Rugs

Well, the new rugs are getting installed this Monday the 18th. Thank God! What a lot of work it has been to prepare for this. We have been boxing up our condo so that is everything except what is in the Kitchen and our furniture is packed and out of the way. We are down to just one bathroom as a lot of the stuff has been stacked high in the guest bathroom. Thank god we have two bathrooms! We are living in total disarray with boxes everywhere. Needless to say, life is kind of crazy again. This time of year seems to get so busy! Probably because I hibernate for half the year and when the warmer weather is here, I just want to enjoy every minute of it. We will post before and after pics of the rugs so u get to see the new ones.

OK, today I'm sitting in the work cafeteria with my co-worker having lunch. I was very tempted to buy something but I made myself eat the salad I brought from home. It was very good! I'm really trying to stick to my rule of only eating out once a week and I'm trying to be healthy. Anyway, all of the sudden I realize I gotta pee. As many of you know, when I gotta go... I gotta GO! I usually have less than 5 minutes to find myself a bathroom or a private corner (that last one is for Tami to chuckle.) Anyway, Our office is on the 5th floor but the cafe is on the 2nd. I immediately rush to the bathroom and I can't get into the accessible stall b/c someone left the baby changing table down. I was soooooooooooo furious. To make matters worse there was a random little boy in the bathroom wanting to pet Rosie. I of course I let him, but time really was of the essence. So, I leave that bathroom and wheel as fast as I can to catch the elevator.

I get to the 5th floor and out of the 10 stalls wouldn't you guess that a non-disabled person is in the only stall I can use. Normally I don't care but when I have to go this really irritates me! ugh!!! Anyway, one of my co-workers was in the bathroom washing her hands and could tell I was frazzled. So, I told her how I REALLY had to go and the whole story that I just explained above. Anyway, my other non-disabled co-worker gets out of the stall and says,"everyone uses this stall because it is the cleanest." I had no time to respond but I'm sure the expression on my face said it all. Anyway, sometimes I just get really annoyed with these daily obstacles. I thought I pwould post these helpful hints that I read on my friend Kristen's blog. She is Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts and her blog rocks. Check it out. http://mswheelchairmass07.blogspot.com/

Helpful Hints:-

Introduce yourself before you offer assistance. -

Don't be offended if your help is not needed. -

Ask how you can help and listen for instructions. -

Be courteous, but NOT condescending. -

Assist disabled persons only when necessary or requested.-

Do not discourage their active participation. -

Allow a person DIGNITY to do what he or she wants to do for him or herself.

Other Things to Remember: -

Treat people as you would like to be treated yourself. -

Do not show pity for a person using a wheelchair or any other disability for that matter. -

People with disabilities are NOT alike and have a wide variety of skills. -

Disabled people are not sick, incompetent, dependent, unintelligent or contagious. -

The wheelchair is part of the user's personal space. It is not a leaning post.