For years, Mark and I have been talking about doing the MS walk together. His mom suffers from multiple sclerosis and when we saw her during our road trip she was just coming off of another relapse. Parts of her were still numb, others were in extreme pain and her hearing and vision were still making things a little harder than they normally are. In the past, relapses have landed her in the hospital so I was thrilled to see she was in remarkable spirits, joking and holding her granddaughters, making meals, sitting and talking with us about everything. If you didn’t know her, you’d have no idea she was having trouble at all. She’s really remarkable. I feel very fortunate to have this woman in my life and know I hit the jackpot when it comes to mother-in-laws.
So this year, we’re finally going to do the walk together and I’m feeling really good about it. My body, on the other hand, thinks I’m funny. I took the girls to the zoo yesterday and hiked all over the place, never without a child in my sling. Lily’s been super clingy lately and at one point I had to put Anya in the stroller and sling my almost 30 pound toddler. At first she leaned into me, circling her sweet arms around my neck and resting her head on my shoulder, thumb tucked firmly into her round mouth. Before long though she realized the sling meant she didn’t have to hang on and so she leaned back, bounced around and tried to KILL ME. Thank goodness she’s old enough to threaten and I was able to make it clear she had two choices: hold on or get off this ride.
We wandered around for four hours and by the time we hit the children’s zoo, Lily was done. And so was I, to be honest. So far my legs are not being evil to me this morning and I’m hoping they will continue to be kind. I’ve also realized that if I do want to do this walk come April, I better spend a whole lot more time at the zoo.
In any event, I’m going to urge you all to check out MS Walks or support in your area. This disease sucks serious ass; so many of them do, really. But this is the one that is near and dear to our hearts so come and walk with us. One of these days we’re gonna bitch slap MS and wouldn’t it be great to say you were part of that movement?
About multiple sclerosis.
