Anna and I had a long but fun Saturday. We drove up to the Irish Hills to take Paul up to do some chores. He left a truck up there so we needed to drop him off. Then we went to visit our friend Lily. And after that I had to go run errands. Anna was getting worked up at the hospital visit. The show must go on every Warrior knows.
We finally landed at Meijer and I knew I was on limited time with her mood. I had to get a prescription for one of my dogs, since the vet did not have it. We turned the corner to the Meijer Pharmacy and I thought, “Oh wow . . this is gonna be fun.” Not in a good way.
There were nine other people in front of us. One cashier and three pharmacists running around like lunatics. Everyone in line turned to look at me and Anna. I had her in her wheelchair, a small grocery cart and then me spinning both of them around to keep us in line. Nobody wanted to look at us again; they just kind of made it a point to look ahead.
Well, I thought, I have to stand in this awful line, and I hope Anna cooperates. We moved up two more people since a couple people went up to the only register. Then she started whining. The whine that she needs to be pushed and she is not going to just sit there in her chair. No worries, this warrior thought, I will “rock” her. This means standing in line pushing the wheelchair back and forth as I’m in line and creeping up toward our turn. Back and forth and back and forth, and then I started to need to make an “L”, you know give her some variety. So up then over then back like and “L” in front of the place we were standing. She takes it for about 5 more minutes and then she is not happy again. I need to stay in line so I pull the last trick I have. I started playing music on my phone in line, not loud, but so she can hear it. I place my cell phone behind her back in the chair and I choose an artist that I hope all will like, or at least neutral. Not Metallica or what Anna really loves heavy metal, I chose Matchbox 20. “Long Day.” How appropriate.
We are almost to the front. The couple in front of us turns around and says, “You can go ahead of us if you like.” This was very kind, but just then another cashier came up and I said, thank you but another cashier just opened and I pointed to her. I went up and told her the info she needed and we were done in 10 seconds. I was done before the couple that offered.
Now to get shopping for the rest of my list. I made a plan and hoped for the best. I knew she would likely be fine as soon as the constant pushing of her chair resumed.
I went through produce, dairy, and some of the main aisles. I could not find the main ingredient I needed, called Andouile sausage, for this delicious soup I wanted to make. Finally I scored, just then I waited for the aisle to clear and this sweet man in his mid 20’s came around the corner. I stopped to let him by. He said, “Thank you, you’re doing a hell of a job.” I thanked him and wanted to say “You should have seen us at the pharmacy.” But I just smiled.
Then I decided to load a carseat for my granddaughter in the cart while pushing Anna, and got all the ingredients for my new soup recipe including crusty baguette bread. I felt victorious as I loaded it all in the mini van in the rain and could not wait to get home and cook. Anna was glad to be home and sit on the couch while I made hearty comfort soup for the family.
Never give up, pull out all the stops. Play music, make that recipe, pile up the cart . . . and keep on going.
Update on our sweet Lily: She is out of the ICU and the team is trying to get her to tolerate her feeds and get overall stronger to make the transition home. Prayers continue.
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