interactions

i had three separate instances within a few short hours of people acknowledging my disability. at work, some kids like to ask me questions about why or how i'm in a wheelchair. fully acceptable, seeing as they are young, curious, and respectful. today, one girl asked me if my legs were feeling better. that was a first for me, i guess i've never been around a curious stranger enough for them to expect me to at some point get better. i legitmately had no idea how to repsond, so i said i was feeling good with a smile and thanked her for her concern. it was kind of adorable, but caught me way off guard.

the second. one of the teachers at work told me if i'm ever walking by her room, to stop in and check out her bulletin board. she cut herself off in embarrassment and apologized for telling me to "walk." i honestly hadn't even noticed she said it in the first place, it's such a natural phrase to say. even i talk about walking places myself out of habit, which i'm sure makes some people squirm but that's their problem. i assured her it was cool and that i didn't care. she probably left still feeling stupid, but i give her major credit for acknowledging it instead letting the awkward silent lack-of-acknowledgement take over. i hate when people feel they need to tip toe around their words near me, but if they feel stupid, i'd rather have them say something and know i legitimately don't care rather than trailing off thinking i'm sitting there secretly offended or upset.

third! a woman stranger asked me if i had hurt myself. when i told her it was just some freak thing that happened a long time ago, she explained how she had cancer, lost all her hair and now has it growing back. what she was basically saying was these random events are thrown into our lives, and we have to just get through them. we have to just deal with it, and that's all we can do. it was kind of an odd, but truthful moment. it's funny how different every interaction centered around my disability is, considering how often it comes up.