Sunday, February 20, 2011

A Letter from Ja-lene

I got the best letter from Ja-lene yesterday. A real letter that landed in our mail basket in the basement.

Here's part of it:

... I also think of you and your mom often. I miss her so much sometimes–I haven't gotten to spend time with someone quite as vibrant and joyous since!


I wanted to share something funny I remembered about your mom ... After she got the wheelchair, I used to push her almost everywhere (she tired out very quickly walking). She would fuss at me constantly because she wanted a turn pushing me in the wheelchair. She would say that all the people around were staring at her, thinking it was wrong of her to ride while I pushed! One day I thought I would show her that she couldn't push my weight. We were on a level, paved walkway in the Tennessee Riverpark, and she was asking again for me to let her push for a while. I helped her get up and get behind the chair, and then I sat down. I thought she wouldn't be able to move the chair at all, but to my astonishment she got it (and me) moving right along! I let her push for about ten feet, and then I couldn't stand it and got up. Needless to say, she still kept bugging me to let her push the chair on every trip after that ....