Standing

Building on my last post -

Standing. It's getting tougher.

Maybe it's more difficult these days because I'm enduring my typical inner ear Spring flare-up. That's the best case scenario - that I can tie it in with that and eventually it will improve.

Monday was a rough one. Work and then I had a doctor's appointment - with the inner ear specialist! It was just my yearly appointment to get my med refills basically. During the approximately four minutes that he's in the room with me, he typically spends three and a half minutes using a touch screen computer and the other thirty seconds looking in my ears. That's it. See ya next year.

The 30 minute window for my ride home began at 4:45. My appointment was done shortly after 3:30. So around 4:45 I went downstairs. And thus began the hardest part of the day. Because there is nowhere to sit downstairs. No bench or chair inside or outside. I can't sit on a curb because I can't get myself back up. And there are two entrances to that building. So I needed to be outside to make sure I didn't miss my ride. This is what curb to curb service means.

So there I stood for nearly thirty minutes, trying not to lose my balance; trying not to worry about how bad my thin hair looked blowing in the hazy wind of a humid afternoon; trying not to cry as people exited the building, slid into their cars, and drove off; trying not to worry that I looked like a homeless person asking for a donation.

Since standing next to something can somewhat help my balance, I was near a car, but not leaning up against it in case it had an alarm. And suddenly guess who's standing next to me: my doctor! Guess who is the owner of the car that I chose to help me attempt to stay upright?

"Waiting for your ride?" he asked.
It's already one of our longest conversations ever.
"No, I'm just choosing to hang out in this parking lot by myself," I replied inside my head.
"I'm about to take your leaning mechanism away," he said, or something to that effect.
"Yippee!" I thought.
Of all the cars to pick.
Thank goodness I saw the van pulling into the parking lot at that moment, and I waved my arm as high as I could manage.

Relieved, I hoisted myself into the seat. I rode home with a lady and her gorgeous long-haired golden retriever dog guide. Too bad it was a guide dog and not a therapy dog. I could have used a big nuzzle and some wet kisses.

My appointment was at 3:30. I got home around 6.

librarianintx