And back to the firsts –

Regular readers will know about our white fluffy Bishon frese Lucy.

 Well, in getting myself ready to resume wheelchair basketball after many a decade of inactivity, I decided to do a few drills at the local primary school’s basketball court.

On weekends we often head to the shops ,and while Martin buys the paper and milk, or a warm treat for lunch, Lucy and I generally explore the local surroundings – meaning I learn to negotiate rough pathways and steep kerbs when people park inconsiderately across their driveways.

Traditionally we’ve walked through the local park and checked out the swings and play areas that offer a seat for the weary.  However pup moves faster and I get less exhausted when we take the wheelchair.The gradient is still a challenge for my stomach and shoulder muscles – although the ease at which this often is reduced by simply pumping up flat tires is somewhat miraculous I must say.

So of late we tend to visit the primary school’s basketball court and do suicide drills, i.e. I push fast from one end to the other and she runs. This works two fold. I get fitter and she gets tired.

Exercise is good. Yes. Mobility is vital. Yes. Fitness is important. Agreed.

But back to the weekend of firsts.

Using a wheelchair, opens windows to new and varied experiences. It offers flexibility in mobility so I can explore more of Rotto and other places.

It also has new challenges to overcome. And not just people’s perceptions, which interestingly (sadly/predictably/ concernedly) do differ from time to time when I meet them at meetings or in the street – me sitting instead of standing as I generally do using crutches (or sticks as I tend to call them). But we’ll look at attitudes another time.

Running over dog poo. Yuck!

Wheeling over and squishing a snail so it’s shell dissolves into crunchy bits and it’s slimy body morphs into unknown icky bits in the tire tread. Big yuck!

Finding a stick the right size to remove said ickiness from the wheel. Priceless.

Lesson to share – pick up any dog poo your pup drops. Or suffer the consequences.

And watch where you walk/wheel- it’s not being rude to not always have eye contact when talking to someone – it is being sensible.  Long live liquid hand wash and wipes. And puppies. (Not snails.)