My Supports

            I feel blessed to have the supports that I do in my daily environment.  My family, especially husband and son, are always supporting me in whatever I do.  They reassure me that I can do things I think I cannot do.  In fact I am embarking on a new adventure:  learning how to ice skate.  I am terrified, but with their love and encouragement, I know I can get through it.  Please pray for me!  They love me whether or not I mess something up.  They are unconditionally supportive and loving.  Although my mom does not live near us, I talk to her everyday.  She is always there for me to lend an ear, encourage me, give me advice, etc.  I am also fortunate to have her as a financial support as well.  She helps us out when she can and I am forever grateful to her.

            I also have supports at work.  I work with a great group of people that support each other.  We have developed some good friendships and working relationships, which is extremely important.  I have worked in jobs where I did not get along with my co-workers.  It was hard going to work and fulfilling my responsibilities because I was miserable.  My job also supports my list habits and provides me with countless Post-It notes.  I would not be able to survive without my Post It notes.  Between them and my calendar, I would be lost and disorganized.

            Another daily support I have is religion.  Although I cannot see him, I always know that God is there for me.  I can count on Him to get me through anything.

            The benefits of these supports are that I am a better person.  I know I have people I can rely on when times are tough and will be there to celebrate with me when times are good.  I do not feel alone and I have a sense of belonging in this world.  I don’t know where I would be without my supports.  I feel I would be lost.  I can’t imagine not having my husband and son always pushing me and loving me.  Seeing their smiling faces gives me the strength I need.  I have been in jobs where I did not have supports and it was a horrible feeling.  I was miserable and couldn’t wait to find another job.  At times I dreaded work so bad that it would manifest into physical symptoms such as headaches, nausea, etc.  This is something that I do not want to experience ever again.

            The challenge I chose to imagine was a physical one and imagined I was confined to a wheelchair.  (This could happen if ice-skating takes a bad turn.)  I would like to think I would be a strong person but I know I would still need my physical, practical, and emotional supports.  I would need people in my daily environment that could physically help with things that I couldn’t do such as get something from a high shelf or get to something that a wheelchair prevented me to get to.  Practically, I may need additional financial support from others.  The specialized equipment that is needed for people in wheelchairs is not cheap.  My husband’s uncle was confined to a wheel chair so I can attest to the fact that some equipment is expensive.  This challenge would probably increase the amount of emotional support I would need, especially if I was confined to a wheelchair after experiencing life without one.  It would be hard to see other people doing things you wanted to do and couldn’t do such as play certain sports.  Personally I know that it would be very hard on me not being to do things especially if I could do them before.  It might be different if I had always been in a wheelchair because in a way I wouldn’t know any better. 

            I believe the benefits of the supports would give me a better quality of life.  I would have people in my life to help when I need it, support me, and encourage me.  Likewise life would be difficult at times if I did not have these supports.  If I were by myself, it could be hard if I found myself in a situation where I needed additional help such as slipping in a bathroom and not able to get up.  I could see myself getting easily depressed if I had nobody on a daily basis to support me.  I wouldn’t be able to enjoy life because I would be so miserable thinking about all the things I couldn’t do anymore. 

            No matter what we are facing in life, we need people around us to support, encourage, and love us.  I can’t imagine being a child in this world without daily supports.