Our Soon To Be New Wheels!!!

I have to take a deep breath before I write this.
Because if I don't, I will just cry and cry and none of this will ever get written.

We have been blessed with an incredible gift.

That is a van.
That is going to be OUR van. Very soon.
It doesn't even feel real.

This van has a ramp, so that Michael can get into the vehicle himself.
It has a place for him to sit in his wheelchair, and ride UP FRONT, beside me.

After our Summer vacation - when we drove half way across the country and back - we decided to finally start looking for a wheelchair van.  My back aches from all of the lifting.

Michael has had a couple of wheelchair vans in the past. He had a giant red wheelchair van when we were dating that I HATED. It was so huge, it felt like a sailboat in the wind on the highway.  And he had to ride in the back, and I would be driving in the front. This made me feel like a taxi driver and it was so AWFUL.

I will never forget the FREEDOM and JOY I felt the day I realized I could pick Michael up and put him in the front seat of my SUV.  It meant we could go places, just us, NOT in the giant red taxi bus. We got rid of that thing so fast.  Not that it wasn't great. It was, when Michael was single.  All men learn that the world becomes a different place when you get married, right? Pretty much everything from your former life is replaced.

For the last three years, every time we have gone somewhere together (not counting a couple of times friends or his brother lifted him), I literally did a deep squat, picked my husband up, put him in the front seat of our SUV, then put his wheelchair (which weighs more than 60 lbs.) in the back.  It was fine, at first.  Over the last year, we have HARDLY ever gone to church because of this situation.  My back began to hurt.  Transfers are harder when we have to park at a curb, or on a hill. I am proud to report that I have only fallen once, and no, I did not drop him!! The big lifting makes me sweaty and gross, and well after doing it for two and a half years, I was ready to get over my pride and I finally realized that a van with a wheelchair ramp was not going to create any more of a scene than a 5'2" woman lifting a grown man into an SUV.

Several weeks ago, I was in my hotel room in Salt Lake City.  I was traveling for work.  Derek McConnell called me.  He told me that he and his fiancee, Krystina, were going to be getting a new wheelchair van, and they wanted to give us the van they have been using.  They received this van as a gift from someone in their community, and they wanted to pass it along as a gift to US!

We were the first people that came to mind, they said. Mind blowing.

Derek was wounded by an IED blast in Afghanistan almost exactly one year ago.  He lost both of his legs, and nearly lost his right arm.  He is a friend of my brother's.  I will never forget the day my brother told me about what happened.  I will never forget the day my brother was home on leave, and my family went with him to the hospital to visit Derek.

It changed me.

Over the last year, we have had the pleasure of getting to know Derek, Krystina, and Derek's mom, Siobhan.  Together, they make "Team Derek."

They will be our friends, for life. I know it. Just knowing them has been a gift.
Now, they're blessing us with this amazing, life-changing gift.

I can't believe this is really happening.  I've already cried about it once. So has my sister. So has my mom.  And I think my brother even teared up when I called to tell him about it.

I never in a million years would have thought I'd be SO EXCITED to get behind the wheel of a minivan!

But I am!
Oh, I so am.

Derek and Krystina, THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES OVER.  Thank you to your parents, for raising incredibly giving young adults. Thank you to the person who originally donated this van to Derek.  We are so grateful.  We will use this for good things, I promise!

Life is Good

Look at this one hydrangea bloom. It is full of life. Still hanging on in the summer heat, even though all the others have dried out an died.

I walk by this when I'm walking the dogs in the morning. Yesterday, on our way home from the pool, I finally stopped to take a picture.  I took a picture of this same bush when it was fully in bloom with lots of living flowers - blue and pink.  And that was really beautiful.

But this one is beautiful too, in kind of a different way - but kind of the same, standard kind of beautiful way, too.

I promise not to get all symbolic on you now that I'm on this writing journey. At least, not all the time anyway.

But you know what? I can relate to that hydrangea. It's surrounded by scorching heat. It's all alone.  But, somehow, it's still making it.

I read this in my devotional this morning:
"Your only hope is to look up and see the Light of My Presence shining down on you. Though the Light looks dim from your perspective, deep in the pit, those rays of hope can reach you at any depth."


Oh, do I remember that pit.
Oh, do I remember looking all around me, and feeling so alone, feeling so different, feeling so overwhelmed.  Feeling so mad at God.  The smallest little thing could make me cry. I couldn't get through a day without crying. Then, it got a little better - I could go a day but not a week without crying.

Some of you were there, then.
Some of you were reading along as I took those first steps out of the pit.

I'm out now! I'm free! His promises are true, even when they do take time to see, and especially to feel.
There are still times when I look around and see how different our life is from those around us.  But, the self pity isn't there, so it doesn't sting as much.

And, I can see that all of this is being used for good.
That makes all the difference in the world.

If the smallest things make you cry, go ahead and cry. Cry out. He is there. He can handle your doubt, your anger, your fear.  Just keep being real. Because I think if you're real, the light and the water can still get to you.

And who knows - maybe next summer you will be the one shining and growing and alive, even if you are the only one standing.

"He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.


He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD."
-PSALM 40:2-3


I highly recommend "Jesus Calling," especially if you're like me and peace is not your autopilot mode.

The Not-So-Secret "Secret" is Out

Hi.
I'm going to let you in on a little something that has been swirling around in my head and my heart for a while.

I want to write a book.
I'm still formulating exactly what it will be about.
I still need a lot of direction - but I'm starting to feel some ideas take shape.
It's exciting!
It's scary.
It's overwhelming.

But, I believe it's something I need to do.
I know it's something I want to do.

Who knows how long this will take.
Who knows if anyone will ever read it.

Never the less, let the journey begin!

I will be seeking your input from time to time.  So, if you see random questions posed by me here on the blog, or on Facebook - please take a sec and help me out.

I have no idea what I'm doing.
But I know that I'm doing it from my heart.

I love writing.
I love when pieces of myself pour out of me and onto the screen.
And then you read it.  And it matters to you.
It's amazing.
That's what I want.  More of that.
This is about all of us.
This is our story.

I am the Original Rock-A-Bye Baby

 I am the original Rock-A-Bye Baby.

32 years ago today, my parents opened a little store of their own called Rock-A-Bye Baby.

32 years ago today, my mom - a young, brand new mom, became her own boss.

She still is today.

This store, this family business, is amazing.

That's a baby me, in Rock-A-Bye, up there.

I laid in cribs and was fed bottles behind the counter at Rock-A-Bye.  I test drove walkers and strollers and was held by customers and played with customers' kids in the toy section.

I learned how to talk, and sometimes say inappropriate things to customers - like questions about if they were pregnant, and telling them that my Mommy was in the bathroom, at Rock-A-Bye.

As a little girl, I remember putting like or matching items together - I thought then I was a marketing designer. I realize now that my mom was probably just glad I was entertaining myself for a few minutes so she could work.

I remember watching the Olympics on a TV behind the counter, and imagining that the clothing racks were my uneven bars. I never did get to swing on them.

I remember eating and coloring in the sun in the display window. 

I remember taking my dolls shopping.

I remember how hard my mom worked. I remember her coming home from work, carrying bags of baby clothes to wash at home.  I remember folding baby clothes when I was a kid.

I remember my oldest nephew laying a crib at Rock-A-Bye.

I remember the day Rock-A-Bye in Virginia Beach burned down.  I was in ninth grade, it was the first day of school I missed in my life.

I remember watching my mom come back from the biggest tragedy in our lives.  Her strength was amazing.  Our Christmas presents burned up in that fire, but we still had a Christmas.  I remember our family pulling together, and my mom working at a flea market selling baby stuff until Rock-A-Bye was back - better than ever.

I remember working at Rock-A-Bye as my first job when I was 16.  I remember taking my paycheck straight to Old Navy, which had just opened, and blowing it.  We all worked at Rock-A-Bye at one time or another. Now my sister has her own Rock-A-Bye.

I remember getting good at working at Rock-A-Bye.  I remember sizing clothes, and putting out shipments, and trading items.  

I remember beautiful babies, and stinky babies, and babies who were stinkers, who messed everything up.  I remember beautiful stories from parents and grandparents. I happily rang them up as they spoiled those babies.

I remember tragic stories of people who had real needs for their babies, but couldn't afford to buy the things they needed.  I remember watching my mom give away perfectly good baby equipment to people in need.  

I learned how to have a heart for people, at Rock-A-Bye.

Rock-A-Bye financed my childhood, all of the athletic activities I enjoyed as a teenager.  And then the time came for me to go to college. Rock-A-Bye made that possible, too.

I remember when Rock-A-Bye Baby OBX opened.  I remember introducing ourselves to people on the Outer Banks.  I remember some of those first customers. I remember feeling like a real "local."

I remember renting equipment, making signs for the store, reading baby books myself and getting freaked out.  

I remember knowing how to break down every piece of baby equipment and loading it into every type of vehicle imaginable.

I remember getting countless babysitting opportunities because of Rock-A-Bye.

I remember going to see my mom in Rock-A-Bye days before my wedding.  Sharing lunch with my mom behind the counter.  We were both barefoot, of course.  I remember her constantly making piles, and eating a bite of lunch here and a bite there - because she was always a busy little bee.

I'll never forget the smell of Rock-A-Bye.

Whenever I'm there and I hear that ding of the bell when a customer walks in - it just feels right.

I can't wait for the day I can take my future baby into Rock-A-Bye.  Not only because she will get the ultimate hookup on everything she will need for the first years of her life, but because that's part of the cycle of life in our family. 

That cycle that started 32 years ago today.

Happy Birthday, Rock-A-Bye!  Thank you for everything. 

Saturday Morning Post: A Week in My Life

Well, good morning y'all!

Here I am, on my end of the couch, with a puggle snuggled to my right, and a heating pad under me - ready to start the weekend with all of you!

I feel like this was a bit of a crazy week.  My boss was out, so I had to play boss lady on what happened to be one of the busiest weeks of the Summer at the DC news bureau where I work.

I had sinus issues and hardly slept all week, so I ended up sleeping pretty much all of Friday afternoon.

I saw so many friends this week - new and old and in between.  It was great!

Monday, I met up with my friend Kim for breakfast in DC.  Funny background story: The last time I wore this blue and white dress I was meeting a friend from church for coffee, and I went to the wrong Caribou.  Then I had to hustle around downtown to the right Caribou.  And I ended up all sweaty.

Monday, I was meeting Kim at Luna Grill. Somehow my brain understood that as "Cafe Luna," so I put that in my phone, and walked 0.6 miles to the wrong location, then realized this dress failed me again, and I was at the wrong place. So, eventually, we got together, and I was all sweaty, again.

I think I will just wear that dress around the house, or to the pool, from now on.

Anyway - breakfast with Kimberly was wonderful! Hearing about all of the exciting things going on in her life, and sharing our hopes and dreams together. Kimberly is a special person to me, and I'm pumped to know her!

Tuesday, I spent most of the day in the feed room (that's not a place to eat - it's a place where we record video of various news events) watching various Congressional hearings about the implementation and aftermath of the Supreme Court's ruling on the President's health care plan.

It was fine.  For like three hours.  Then, I found myself wishing I was in Iowa, on the campaign trail.

Tuesday, Michael came in to work with me and worked out of our office for the day (his job is mobile and can be done from anywhere).  After work, we met up with old friends of his from when he was a little boy.

We took the metro over to Union Station to meet them.  More on that, in just a bit.

These weren't just any friends. These were friends that are like family to my husband. He and his brother grew up with their kids.  They are like an aunt, uncle, and cousins to him.  They were visiting DC, on vacation.  We ate at Uno's.

It was a great time of catching up (for Michael), of getting to know each other (for me) and laughing and praying together.

After the fact, I realized that Michael hadn't seen Glen and Paula in 20 years, so that meant he hadn't seen them since before his injury. Holy elephant in the room, right? I didn't even put that together while we were together.  We're all Facebook friends now, and I look forward to keeping in touch with them.

On the way home from dinner, a major storm moved through DC.  We took the metro back to my office (as far as we could get with metro having a couple of elevators down anyway, GRR) and it was POURING rain.  So, we ducked into a CVS for a bit.  Then, looking at the radar, we realized the rain was not going anywhere anytime soon, so we went for it.

Six blocks in the pouring down rain.  Pushing my husband through puddles that were ankle deep for me, all kinds of people looking at us like we were crazy.  So wet we looked like we were taking a shower in our clothes.  We figured we'd just look at it like an adventure, a memory, maybe even a future blog post!

We made it back to the bureau.  At that point, I was just so ready to get home.  So tired. My fingers were pruned, my back hurt and we were both soaking wet.  Then, we had a little bit of a - ahem - marital issue.  You know, the good ol' I-see-it-this-way but you-see-it-that-way so let's get into a little pouty (that's my part) fight in the car about it.

We got through that as well.  I was able to do the transfers soaking wet, lifting a man who was soaking wet and wearing jeans (heavy) and we got home with our marriage still in tact.  We did have an iPhone casualty, though. Bummer on that.

Phew!

What a night!

Wednesday. Are you still with me?

Craziness at work that included some very important people in town.

Followed by dinner with one of my best friends in the world - a girl who was a bridesmaid in my wedding - and has a special ability to make me laugh so hard it hurts, Gretchen.

We were both having a bit of a fat day, so we decided a picture of our cupcakes would suffice as a memory of our time together. Gretchen was in town for just one day for work. We met up for Thai food and then walked around Tyson's Corner and got dessert.  I was laughing so hard I was crying, about 2 minutes after I picked her up from her hotel.

I needed this.  It was so much fun. And, isn't it so great when you meet up with a good friend you haven't seen in a while, and you feel like you were just hanging out yesterday?  

Can't wait to see her again.

Thursday.

Phew. 

Thursday, I worked almost all day at the White House.

I hadn't been there in a few months, so it was nice to go to the briefing, and work in our tiny basement office, alone.

I also saw some old friends! Check this out:

The four of us all used to work together, at a different media organization.  Now, we're all working for different media organizations covering the White House. Well, two of them work for the same network, but whatever.  Here we all are! That's Joe, me (looking a hot mess), Kim (see above) and Wes posing like tourists in the White House Briefing Room.

Shortly after this picture was taken my dear friend Becky came in and asked, "Is this a meeting of Dana's friends?" I love Becky! I need to get together with her soon.

Then, we all saw a mouse running around in the briefing room. A mouse in the White House! This apparently is not a new development.  Great...

Friday.

I had a special assistant join me in the office.

A broadcasting legend - Brokaw.

We shared a Chick Fil A fruit cup on the way in to work.

We made a Starbucks run together.

And there he is under the conference room table during the morning editorial meeting.

Phew! 

See, I told you - a great week of seeing friends!

And a crazy week at work (I leave out intimate work details on purpose).

Now, I'm ready for a relaxing, anti-social weekend, haha!

You wanted a slice of my life - you got it!

I am not the Only Caregiver in this House

Last night, after dinner, I laid down on the couch, watching TV. I laid my head on the side of the couch where the cat moonlights.

I'm allergic to the cat.

So, the sneezing and sinus pressure began marching in.
I didn't say anything.
The next thing I knew, Michael comes around the corner with his big, oversized, flat bottomed so it wont-tip-over and can-ride-on-his-lap coffee mug.

"Peppermint Tea," he says.
I'm like, "oh, nice."
"For you," he says.
Me: "For real?"
Him: "You looked like you need some Peppermint Tea."

It was the sweetest thing ever.
It made me feel special, and loved, and taken care of.

I am not the only caregiver in this house.

I am not the only one who puts another's needs ahead of my own.

I am not the only one who gives when I am tired, when I don't really want to, or when I'd rather do something for myself.

I am not the only one who comforts.

I am not the only one who thinks of things I can do to make it easier and more comfortable for someone else.

This is the part of us that people don't see.

When people see us out and about, they see me carrying Michael's stuff, or lifting him in and out of our car, or helping him with this or that.

But this caregiving - the care that I receive happens in the quietness of those moments that are just between us in our home.

Like Peppermint Tea.

Or the massages I get on a nightly basis.

I am truly blessed to call this man my husband. I am truly thankful that we have come so far.

I am not the only caregiver in this house.

Fresh, Easy Pico de Gallo Recipe

Fresh Pico de Gallo.
Mmmmm.
Are you licking your computer screen or your phone right now?

Are you ready to make the easiest, cheapest most crowd pleasing appetizer, ever?
Are you ready to never again pay three times as much as you need to at the grocery store for Pico de Gallo?

Okay. I'll stop with the infomercial bit.  In all seriousness, this is another one of those things that after I made it, I was like, "that's it?"
So, I share it with you. Just in case you've also been paying $3.00-$4.00 for a little container of this stuff.
You don't need to do that.  You don't think you have the time, but you do. All you have to do is chop vegetables and squeeze a lime.  It takes 5 minutes.

Fresh, Easy Pico de Gallo Recipe

Tomatoes (I used 4)

Onion (I used half of one onion)

Jalapeno Peppers (I used 3)

Lime

Cilantro (fresh is better, but I didn't have any)

Salt (I really like Jane's Crazy Mixed Up Salt)

Sprinkle some Crazy Mixed Up Salt and Cilantro in the bottom of a bowl.

Wash, seed and chop up your tomatoes and jalapenos.

Chop up the onion.

Mix the veggies up in the bowl.

Add more Crazy Salt and Cilantro.

Drizzle with the juice of one lime.

Stir.

Refrigerate for 5 minutes.

EAT.  ENJOY. 

There are all kinds of variations you can build from here. Yum!

What It's Like to be on Welfare

When we were first married Dana took care of almost all of my caregiving. There was a brief time we had home health coming in, but that wasn't very long. We were not eager to reach out for Medicaid to pay for the help, so we paid out of pocket. That got expensive. Our company even threw in a few months of caregiving while my regular aide was between clients. But it just didn't feel right living off someone's charity.

It's not that we didn't appreciate the help. The aide came in days I did my bathroom routine. It's a lot of transferring, bending over and getting wet for the caregiver. It can also get messy sometimes. Dana really did give it a go, but it was an extra two hours of hard work on top of the rest of her day. The whole bathroom routine itself wasn't good for our intimacy. It really was too much. We both bit the bullet, but there were many frustrating mornings we were both emotionally spent after the ordeal.

I was in college when I first signed up for assistance. I received a check for supplemental security income (SSI), food stamps, and home health care. Signing up for assistance was humiliating. It went against my grain. But friends and family talked me into it. they said, "That's what it's for." Over the years I've been on and off of government assistance. When I moved to Texas, I applied for social security disability and have been on disability since. Most recently, we applied for Medicaid benefits for home health care. It has been a source of relief and frustration.  Being disabled puts us at a disadvantage from the start.

That's why I really do appreciate a safety net being there.

Between the regular visits and our respite hours that we use when Dana's out of town reliable home health care has been a blessing. Dana has written about the difficult transition to having somebody else in our -- her-- house before. And I still think she does the job better than anybody else. But it has been a great relief to have the help.

There is a drawback to welfare programs: dependence. Just being disabled doesn't qualify us. There are income requirements too. Unfortunately those are often ambiguous and left up to somebody in some office determining whether we are qualified. My website work wasn't bringing in a lot of income, so I wasn't in danger of losing the benefit. My new career brings higher income potential. It puts us at a crossroads. We will have to pay about $60 for health care. That's a hit no matter what you're earning. Everyone on welfare programs faces this threshold. The risk of losing the benefit and security of reliable services holds us back from taking the big leap. It breeds contentment and contempt. Recipients grow content with the safe place. Others --and even conscientious recipients-- build contempt as they sit on the dole.

We have both struggled with this part of disability life. Admitting I need help. Admitting we need help. Actually accepting the help. Paying for the help. Qualifying for assistance to pay for the help. Transitioning back to self-sufficiency. The whole thing is a whirlwind. It's a hidden burden of disability.

Park Day with My Best Good Buddy

Six years ago, I was living in a big townhouse in Pittsburgh all by myself and I decided I was ready to get a puppy.  That's when it happened.  I found some sort of quiz you could take online that decided for you what kind of dog would be best for you.

My results: A puggle.
I had to google it, because I had never heard of these dogs.
Then, I saw the cutest google images I had ever seen in my life: puggle puppies.

Then, I came upon a website for a breeder in Ohio, about two hours from where I lived in Pittsburgh, and I saw this little face online.

And that was it.

Next, I was in my car on my way to Ohio, and on the phone with the breeder giving them my credit card number to put a deposit down on "the one with the white paws."

It's not healthy how much I love this dog, but I don't care. He is my best good buddy. He is a spoiled brat, to the core. That's my fault. But, it's just another thing we have in common. He is my baby dog. Always.  Even though he's a grown man now.

The other day, he was getting into everything (what else is new?) and I could tell that he just really had cabin fever, and needed to get out of the apartment and RUN.

So, I took him to the dog park.  

Brokaw is really smart. He knows a lot of words. I didn't tell him we were going to the park, but he somehow just knew. He was so excited he barked all the way to the car.

There is a great dog park not too far from where we live.  It's a nice, big fenced in area for the dogs to run, and there are benches for the people in the shade.  It was pretty hot on this day, so there were only two other people and three other dogs in the park. One man AND his dog were asleep on a bench in the shade.

Letting Brokaw into the dog park is like watching a rodeo. He revvs up, I open the gate, and he shoots out like a wild, crazy bull.  He immediately made a new friend.

We have met lots of other puggles over the years, but this guy - his name is Cooper - and he is just barely one year old - looks more like Brokaw than any other puggle we have ever met.

"Nice to meet you."

The other dog at the park was just laying down, or circling around to change positions laying down.  Not the puggles. They went nuts.

It was funny to watch them because they were so much alike. They both wanted to be the one who was being chased.

After Cooper left, the dog park was just hot and boring, so Brokaw and I walked along a trail that's at the same park.  Neither one of us is very into or educated about nature.  As we were walking, I heard a strange noise, and jumped. Watch Brokaw's head tilt as he hears the strange noise.


Does anyone know what that is? It was in a marshy area. I was amused at my little city boy's nature listening skills.

After the dog park and the little nature walk, we headed home.

All that physical activity did us in.

It turns out, city dogs really like air conditioning.

Running Around in my Dreams

Good morning.

This blog post is brought to you by this great country we live in (Happy Birthday, USA!) and is powered by Starbucks (thank God you can get ANY tall coffee free today, not just Indivisible Blend (ick)).

So, here I am with my coffee and my banana I snuck in from home (who pays a dollar for a banana?) and a piece of very berry coffee cake in my tummy. I have my James Morrison Pandora station pumping into my headphones, but I still hear the sound of espresso grinding and ice being blended in the background.  I have a whole list of blog stuff to take care of.

I love the smell of Starbucks.

And I absolutely love doing this. I love writing. I love connecting with all of you.  I love hearing YOUR stories.  Thank you for sharing your lives with us.

Have you heard the song, "Running Around in my Dreams," by Tyrone Wells? I love it. YouTube it. It's sweet and romantic and make-you-smile acoustic. To me, there's something about just a guy and a guitar singing that makes me smile. It makes lyrics so easy to imagine, to write your version of story of the song in your head, and play it as the guy and the guitar make music.

It's been a great couple of days. 

Princess go her hair did.  

I made various foods on a stick for a picnic dinner.

Yesterday, Michael came into work with me.  We met some friends for lunch and enjoyed talking with them about life, politics and disability.  It was yet another example of how God is using this little blog to connect people.  It really is amazing. 

Then, last night, Michael, my friend Tracy, and I headed out to the West Front of the Capitol to watch the rehearsal for the Capitol Fourth concert. That's where the flag picture at the top of this post was taken. Hilarious side note: the flags they passed out for us to wave came from Oriental Trading Company. Wow. We really need to get to making stuff in America. 

Okay. Not going to go there because this is a happy slice-of-our-life post, right?

Right.

Going on July 3rd to the concert rehearsal is a tradition for DC area locals. Because the rehearsal is just like the concert, minus the fireworks, and the crowd is way smaller.

I packed up our picnic dinner and supplies, and T, M and I took the metro.  You should see the looks we get rolling through the metro like this.

People stare anyway.  But usually, they just stare once.  When I load Michael down like this, they look at least twice.  There was a time that people staring really bothered me.  But, when I make him this much of a pack mule, I even stare! So, it doesn't bother me.  I figure they either think I'm a horrible, lazy person who is taking advantaged of the handicapped, or I'm smart! :)

It was really humid out, and about 100 degrees and sunny, so I was a hot, sweaty mess in about 0.5 seconds. But I ate lots of ice, sprayed M down a million times, and we enjoyed our fruit and chicken and italian kabobs, as we waited for the concert to start.

Have any of you who have a wheelchair in your life ever been to a free community event with a "wheelchair seating area?" If you have, you have been there, too. Hoveround central, right? We were, as usual, surrounded by old people. But, they were really sweet. The 90 year old man beside Michael in the Hoveround offered some of his popcorn, as he spilled 1/3rd of it on to the ground.  Sweet veteran mushiness. These dudes and their wives are the cutest.  

Side note: As Tracy and I were coming in and setting our chairs down a woman glared at us and informed us that that is the handicapped seating area so we needed to move.  I said, "my husband is in a wheelchair," then I wondered exactly where said husband was.  I looked back and realized he was stuck in the grass. I may have been a little too eager to bust into the kabobs.  Oops.  I went back to get him and then the lady moved. Haha. I didn't mean to make her feel like a shmuck, really, I didnt'.

Michael went to find his friend Jason who was there working. I was worried when he left us to find Jason that Tracy and I would be kicked out of the wheelchair area.  Michael told me if we were questioned to "make a stroke face." Hahahahahaha. That is so offensive, and so wrong, and so funny. I love this man and his sense of humor.  For the record: No one said anything to us.  Besides, our 90 year old friends in Hoverounds would have had our backs anyway, I know it.

They didn't make it through the entire rehearsal because a thunderstorm was coming in, so the Capitol Police ordered everyone to leave. We did get to see Josh Turner and Javier Colon and John Williams and what we did get to see was great!

It was a great evening with my husband, and seeing friends made it feel like we live in a small town.  I guess that's what living in the same place for 5 years will do.