On my last trip I posted about how it was the first time in 3 years I had driven myself to the airport. I hadn’t had the ability to wheel my own baggage in, but as I’ve progressed off of crutches, that ability is coming back full strength. For my trip to San Fransisco, for the NPF Conference, I planned on driving myself too, but the day before my flight my rear view mirror decided to fall off my windshield window. How does that even happen!? Who knows…
Anyways, having been dropped off it felt great to be able to walk away by myself, dragging my leopard bag behind me. Hopped on my flight, got in a taxi, got to my hotel, checked in, stayed and did the reverse all by myself! Of course I still got a wheelchair in the airport – I mean, let’s not get too crazy now ok! Haha
Last September, I traveled out to SFO for the Medx conference. (Maybe you remember this post – Traveling With Disabilities, Lessons Learned) There were several changes in my trip to San Fransisco this time than the last time I traveled! Progress, Progress, Progress!
Conference – obviously haha! Last time I headed to Palo Alto to Stanford for Medx and this time I headed downtown to the Hilton Union Square for the National Psoriasis Foundation National Volunteer Conference. (Read about the conference here! Or check out all the tweets!!)
Mobility – last time I relied on 2 crutches all the time. I was still trying to keep weight off of my left leg, so my mobility was definitely MUCH more limited. This time I was down to 1 crutch and had a much easier time getting around. I even walked around the wharf after the conference! A year ago I would have NEVER been able to do this!
Nerves – sure, I travel by myself quite often, but last SFO trip was one of my first trips getting my wings back. I was nervous about how the whole trip would go, how I would get from one place to another, and nervous about just overall how I would feel! This time I honestly didn’t even second guess any of this at all!
Confidence – I definitely have my confidence back and it’s getting stronger every day. Going back to the nerves issue, I wasn’t as confident about my last trip to SFO as I was about this one. This trip I was super excited and totally ready for a fun time! Not to say I wasn’t excited last time!!!
Situation – Last time I left for the airport right from my Grandpa’s wake. It was an extremely emotional time during my life (I lost my hero!). I definitely feel like this caused me to be nervous and definitely contributed to some of my pain during the trip. This time I was coming off of a relaxing family vacation from Florida, so my nerves were definitely in check.
So why did I feel it necessary to share this with all of you?
You could be thinking, duhhhhh of course your trip would be different. It was a completely different trip all together.
I think it’s important to look at where we’ve come and where we’re going. Remembering not to dwell on the negatives and to use it all as a learning experience. Celebrating ALL wins is an important step in our chronic life journeys. Looking at how far we’ve come, but also realizing we how far we still have to go.
Everyday is a journey. We can make it a happy, positive journey or we can make it a daunting, negative journey. Just by deciding our mindset and deciding on what factors we want to dwell on, we can alter our perception of situations entirely.
I’m so excited to be making progress and I’m so happy to share this progress with all of my friends and family! I’ve had some difficult traveling experiences, but I’ve always learned from them!
Life is a journey and we truly can learn from every happy and sad moment. My trip out to the NPF Volunteer Conference has shown me that I’m making progress, I’m doing so well and I’m so happy, blessed, grateful, *insert every synonym here* for my journey!
What is your journey teaching you today?
Wishing You A Pain Free Day!
