[Wednesday]

I recently became an ambulatory wheelchair user and am feeling like a big imposition at any social event. So I’m not going to any. Not sure how to break myself out of this pattern.

[SummerDay]

I think the biggest hurdle is not thinking of yourself as an imposition. Wheelchairs take up space, but anyone who actually cares about you isn't going to see it as taking up space, if that makes sense. They want YOU there. And they'll see you, not the chair.

I've never been in a wheelchair, aside from hospital stuff, so I've never had to navigate the world in one. But if a friend felt like they couldn't come out to an event because they felt like they're imposing with their chair, I'd be heartbroken. I don't know how to break out of the pattern, aside from just going. Even if it's just one event, or one place that you know is "easier" for chair use. Sort of like getting your feet wet navigating places in it. Go to one, and then another, and another, just easing into it but starting at places you know are chair-friendly. That might help to get you in a frame of mind where the chair feels less like an imposition and you get more comfortable going places with it.

But YOU are not an imposition. That's the biggest thing to remember.

[Wednesday]

I'm trying to remember my philosophy to treat myself with the kindness I'd show a friend. But I can't always get there. I'm probably my own worst friend.

[SummerDay]

I'm probably my own worst friend.

You and me, both.