Well, I do have to say that I am feeling really good and that makes a change so make the most of it because I sure am! 🙂
Today, I feel great, and yesterday I felt great too. Yesterday was fantastic – I had such a brilliant time. I went with a group of people I’m involved with, on the train, all the way to Clacton-on-Sea (which is a little seaside town on the south-east coast of the UK). It takes about one hour on the train. Now, bearing in mind, I’m a recovering agoraphobic, this was quite amazing for me! It was a day full of ‘firsts’ too…it was the first time I’d seen the sea for about five years! Better than that…it was the first time I’d been on a train in about fifteen or so years!! Incredible!
I felt safe with this group of friends which helped, especially safe with ‘Carol’ who’d organized the whole thing (thanks Carol although you don’t read my blog!). It was my first trip out of my home-town in my new powered wheelchair…Oh, thank the Lord, I didn’t have to be pushed in my old manual wheelchair! How I hate that, always. It make me feel helpless whereas my electric wheelchair makes me feel empowered. The train journey was ‘a piece of cake’ as we say here…meaning ‘easy-peasy’. (Now I’m showing off!).
Once we’d arrived at the seafront, I was as free as a bird. I paired up with another girl, also in an electric wheelchair and we bombed it up the promenade, looking at all the little kiosks selling ‘kiss me quick hats’, beachballs, buckets and spades, blow-up dinghies and the like. Some of them sold food too. We sailed past one stretch and I said to L, “what was that gorgeous smell?”. She replied “doughnuts” and they were cooked while you wait. So, another first, a freshly cooked, hot ring doughnut covered in sugar that it’s impossible not to get all round your mouth! Yummy!
More zooming about (carefully dodging pedestrians, of course!) until it was lunchtime. We decided to stop at another kiosk and had coffee, and, for the first time (again), I had a fresh hotdog in a bun, complete with fried onions and ketchup and God knows how many calories! Oh, and chips! And did I care about my ‘diet’; did I heck! I thoroughly enjoyed it. So did L – she had the same.
After a while we met up with the rest of the group, found ourselves a little café to get coffee. But did I stop at that? Nope! I spied an ice-cream stall close-by and before I knew it, I found myself sitting with a strawberry Cornetto in my hand; another first. I don’t usually ‘allow’ myself ice-cream so that was also a first of sorts.
I had a fantastic time and the journey back was good too and I think, for once, I had a smile glued permanently on to my face all day long! I’m already planning when I can do it all again! It completely took me away from all my problems, heartaches, pain etc, etc…which did me a power of good because today, I’m still feeling the ‘feel-good factor’ and still smiling. Oh, what it is to have my independence! I wouldn’t exchange it ‘for all the tea in China’. (I don’t know if you have these quaint little sayings overseas, that I have been littering my chit-chat with?). If not, I can ‘translate’ at a reasonable fee!
Traditional, corny old British song (excuse the pathetic animations), coming up!
Essentially Ellie 