My mom is 81 years old. Three years ago, she decided to try to build some upper body muscles. She told me that she was going to begin by doing push-ups every day.
She phoned the next day and said, “I am disgusted!”
“Why?” I asked.
“I tried doing push-ups and could only do 35!”
That is my mom.
She had a very rare cancer called Mycosis Fungoides that begins on the skin and will develop into Lymphoma. She refused chemo and radiation but allowed a salve made of mustard gas that removed the upper layers of skin. It worked. She has been cancer free for over 13 years and is the longest survivor of this disease at her university hospital. She told them that it will never return. It wouldn’t dare. She is one strong woman.
She is also very fit and looks at least 20 years younger than her age. Really. She is very proud of that.
So, one day we were together at the shopping center and I was looking for a disability parking spot. As I pulled into one and hung the placard I said, “When I am with you, people don’t question me about the disability card. They think it is for you.”
Well, that was the wrong thing to say. She was shocked. “Do you really think that people think I am disabled?” She hopped out of the car and tried not to look disabled.
Later, we were out again looking for another space. We pulled in, I hung the placard, turn to her and said, “Ok mom, limp!”
That has become our joke. Every time we park, once of us says, “Limp!”
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