You Have To Laugh

I know at least one of our readers out there *waves to Morticia* will understand what I am going to rave on about today.

Having Multiple Sclerosis means you get fairly organised about certain parts of your life. You may not have your house clean or your finances under control, but by god you have a good idea about what places you will be visiting will to have stairs, air-conditioning and handy toilets.

With my change in job I have to go 2 days a week into St Leonards (about 15kms away). I have been driving it the last few weeks but the $30 a day in parking, tolls and petrol was making that choice a bad one. Next I looked at trains but that was just too logistically difficult when I compared it to taking the bus.

Taking the bus. Sounds so simple. I am sure way back when I would not have thought twice about taking the bus. My children have been catching the bus to school since they were in single digit ages. Nothing to worry about. But worry I did.

I work hard at looking normal. On a good day you will see me striding confidently down the road and think nothing at all was up. But in that confident image is a woman who has thought long and hard about road crossing, footpath conditions, clothes and in particular shoes, to ensure my grip on this earth feels as steady as possible.

Back to the bus. First consideration is the 150 metre walk to the bus stop along roads with no footpath, dragging along a laptop in a wheelie bag. Do I wear office heels and totter along? (Which is a laugh as they are less than an inch high, but high enough to scare the part of me that screams “you can’t feel your feet!”) Do I pop on runners and swap shoes over in the office. Can my hands manage to pull the wheelie bag AND carry a shopping bag with office heels in it as well? Can I manage to do all that PLUS climb into the bus, pay for the ticket, and sit down without a) falling over and/or b) tipping the contents of the bags/wallet all over the place?

To add an extra dimension to this puzzle was the fact that it has been raining here for the last few days. Indeed it was raining this morning when I woke. So chuck in whether I could carry all of the above PLUS an umbrella. A large golfing sized umbrella.

Choices needed to be made and I went the minimalist route. No running shoes and no umbrella. I think I made the right choice too. The bus was late and full of damp people with cranky expressions and wet umbrellas. I elegantly forced myself on, paid without flinging coins in the drivers face and grabbed a seat next to a large snoring man.

I bet no one guessed what a victory that was for me. No slip ups today! Now tomorrow I have to catch that same bus again…..