10 years

Well, I'm back. The car is restored to its previous glory, all for the low low price of $1740. Much has transpired here over the last six days, all of it way too fucked up to recount.

In the not-too-fucked-up side of things:

The race was a great success. I'm told there were approximately 100 runners, two of whom bear the surname McGee. Yes, Jenny ran her very first road race! It was a miserably hot afternoon but she never gave up and pushed through to the finish where her sister was waiting. One of my friends told me the best memory she has of the race is the look on my face when I saw my girls together at the finish line.

It delights me no end that my daughters are running -- are runners. Today, June 25, marks 10 years since I first put on a pair of running shoes and ran 2 miles to get my cardio so I could lift weights... after which I smoked a cigarette. Anyway, I am running vicariously through my daughters now, and enjoying every one of their successes.

I have pictures but cannot find an easy way to move them to the blog without having to save each one individually, a task I find onerous and frustrating. Please be patient.

The new power chair made its debut at the race. A donated portable ramp and a friend's truck allowed us to transport the chair, and I tootled around the boardwalk and the picnic site with a level of freedom I haven't enjoyed in a long time.

Naturally, when I got home I started looking for handicap vans. Craigslist had several vehicles in both Richmond and Washington; I found one in Annandale with low mileage and a lower price tag. Lynne and I are going to look at it on our way to clinic this morning. A friend of mine at the Honda dealership ran a Carfax report for me which indicates the car is "clean." (I can't help but be reminded of the movie Poltergeist, when the diminutive spiritualist leaves the poltergeist-ridden house and declares "this house is clean," only to be proven wrong when all the bodies buried underneath make their appearance.) In all seriousness, I'm sure the car is fine and I hope it works out because I would really love to check this off the list.

It's 8:30 AM so I need to get ready to leave. Coming up: my strange dream from last night as well as highlights from today's clinic.