Spring Cleaning

            As an adult member of my household, I willingly contribute funds to pay the monthly bills.  But I want to contribute on a more physical level as well.  I want to do dishes and mop the kitchen; dust and vacuum the living room; load and unload my laundry.  As an independent person, I want to tackle as many chores on my own as I can.  Or at least attempt them.

Today I had the opportunity to try my hand at some vacuuming.  I actually managed to accomplish a good deal of it on my own.  Every now and then the cord would get stuck to my tires and I’d pull the plug out.  This would prompt my mother to unwind me and plug the vacuum up again.  Then off I went once more.  The whole ordeal took me about 30-45 minutes, and I strained my left hand so much it swelled slightly.  But I did it my way and I got it done.  I was high on a sense of personal physical achievement I haven’t felt in a long time.

I was intent on doing more, which led me to ask for the broom with the adjustable handle.  I can be a bit of a neat freak when I get on a cleaning spree, and we had some cobwebs above the front door.  I wanted to attempt to reach them myself.  But my attempts were cut short.  “The broom is too heavy” I was told.  “You’ll knock everything down”.  Would I really?  I’ll never know, because I was never given the chance to try.  I was heart broken and truly hurt by my mother’s inability to let me try.  I probably would have failed.  The broom is extremely heavy for me.  But I wanted the option to fail.

I can certainly understand my mother’s caution.  A heavy broom in the hands of someone who can barely lift the weight of her own arm, trying to swipe away cobwebs right next to a stack of boxes and a side table would probably make anyone with common sense think twice.  But the moment of vacuum triumph followed by the averted dusting disaster got me thinking.  I may find that I can’t dust the cobwebs or load and unload laundry.  As a person with Muscular Dystrophy, there are not many chores I find myself physically able to do, and I’m ok with that.  What I’m not ok with is the inability to make the choice to try.