Facing The Problem Is Appreciated

For me personally, I appreciate nothing more than when someone I love gifts me something that directly references my being disabled. Sound odd? Perhaps, when you consider that I spent almost 30 years hiding my problems, and political correctness seems to insist that society not even acknowledge a person's disability as if that's somehow going to make a disabled person not feel so...disabled.

I remember when a friend of mine, on the day I was going in for my hip replacement, brought me a little present. It was a key chain with a fake hip joint attached. It made me laugh my ass off. I loved it. She was the only friend who truly appreciated my dark sense of humor.

Last night, Laura gave me a very special night before my birthday present. It wasn't expensive, at all. She gave me the following bumper sticker:


It almost made me cry. And it was as much because this bumper sticker was true as because Laura had given me something that had shown me what I already knew about her, that my wonderful, beautiful girlfriend was fully supportive of the path I was walking.

And there is no doubt that the best birthday present we can have is the support and love of those who chose to live with our suffering.