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by Kate Adamson
In January, news came from New Zealand that my grandmother died. She would have been 99 years old at the end of that month – nearly an entire century! As I sat quietly thinking of her, I realized she had dealt with her own disability all her life. Grandma was deaf. As a child, I simply and comfortably accepted that she couldn’t hear. That was just how Grandma was. I never thought of it as a “hardship” to accommodate her by abbreviating every sentence to one or two words to communicate with her. She was worth it! Every day at 3 p.m. was time with Grandma; a cup of tea and cream cakes or pike lets (pancakes) with a scoop of fresh whipped cream on top and dab of raspberry jam. Many times Grandma would take my sister and me to a hi-tea at the Savoy (much like a Ritz Carlton). Grandma was one classy lady. That is how I saw her and that is how I remember her. I did not see her as “handicapped,” “disabled,” "sick" or "an invalid." She led a simple but powerfully influential life.
I have often wondered what it would be like to live as long as did Grandma. What if I lived from now to 99, focused and steadily moving; doing the things I want to do – not held back by paralysis, physical or otherwise? How would my life look? How many will I have influenced?
How about you? What if you live to be 99? What if you live even the next 10 years freed from whatever paralysis keeps you from doing the things you want to do, to serve and grow? What good will you do? What power and joy – even if in a wheelchair – will you feel when your journey has been a daily experience of moving past paralysis into ever- expanding levels of being and ever-widening circles of influence? How will your life be celebrated by those whose lives you have blessed?
The accomplishments of January are dedicated to my grandmother with gratitude for all that her experience in life inspires in me. I will miss her dearly, even though we were miles apart I thought of her often.
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2002-2004 Kate Adamson 409 N. Pacific Coast Highway PMB #415 Redondo Beach, CA 90277 1-800-641-KATE 1-800-641-5283 Toll Free (310) 546-8142 Fax kate@katesjourney.com |