Dinner and a Movie with ParaGirl - Lilo and Stitch
I had been wanting to see this movie for a while, since I do really enjoy Disney, but I wanted to wait until a few weeks after it was released, so I wasn't in a theater with a thousand screaming children. It's not that I dont' like kids, but a bunch of kids runnign around and playing with their talking Stitch action figures would have soured my movie experience.
Since it was a kid movie, and it was really hot out on the Saturday I decided to go see it, I dressed light and playful - I wore a pair od khaki shorts with big thigh pockets and a loose-fitting 'Winnie the Pooh' quarter-sleeve t-shirt, plus little grey ankle socks with Eeyore on them, so they matched the T-Shirt. I have a back pouch I usually sling over the back of my wheelchair, but today I just took a small lap purse with whatever I needed - it was too hot for luggage!
I drove to the theater and did my usual 'look for an out of the way parking spot' - this is because I refuse to park in a handicapped slot, but I need to park somewhere that I can transfer in and out of the car easily. I found a spot in a mostly empty lot on the side of the theater and parked, then wenth through the common steps of assembling my Invacare wheelchair. After the chair was assembled and the cushion straightened (my cushion always gets messed up when I transport the chair), I locked in the proper position outside my car door and, using the door frame and seat riser as support, swung myself over and into my wheelchair. I lifted both legs with my hands, one at a time, and positioned them in the footrests. A final adjustment, then I grabbed my purse and locked the car, and wheeled into the theater.
All the theaters I go to are very accessible, I've never been to a big multi-plex that I didn't feel completely comfotrable in. I wheeled to the ticket counter and bought my ticket, then the concession stand, where I gladly traded my kidney and half a lung for a medium popcorn, a lemonade, and a box of snowcaps (It was like $11.00, I think!). The theater had nice trays for the drink and snacks, which fit nicely on my lap as I wheeled into the theater.
One of the reasons I love wheeling in the theater is that just about every new theater I've been in has GREAT wheelchair seating, and I was able to park my chair right in the middle at a nice distance from the screen, so I wouldn't have to crane my neck in all sorts of awkward angles to see the movie, and I didn't have to transfer out of my wheelchair into a seat. I don't care how nice the theater is, I've never been in a movie theater seat that was more comfotable than my sweet little wheelchair!
The move itself was so much fun - much better than I even expected it to be! I laughed just about all the way through it - that little blue critter was SO funny! But, as all Disney movies, it had a deep meaning behind it, a lesson on the importance of family - all very touching, now get back to the little blue alien!! Ahh, that's better, now he's got a chainsaw.... I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone with kids, or anyone who is just a kid at heart - it's just a fun, cute movie.
After the movie, I had to use the lades room. Now, I'll admit here, often when I'm out pretending like this, I will wear a diaper. Today, however, because of the high heat and humidity, I decided in favor of greater comfort. so off to the ladies room where, lo and behold, there is someone in the handicapped stall. Now, I will not use a handicapped parking spot when I'm out, but I HAVE to use a handicapped restroom stall, so I sat and waited for a few minutes, until the gum-chewing, cell-phone taking teenage diva decided she'd spent enough time in her little blue condo and finished up - then she saw me. In my wheelchair. Waiting. Now, this happens to me more often than you'd think - EVERYONE uses the 'big stall' in public restrooms, but the reactions of the offenders when they walk out of the stall and see someone in a wheelchair waiting, especially when all the 'little' stalls are still open - it's priceless. Well, the little princess comes out of the stall, sees me, and then immidiately averts her eyes and mutters some sort of apology. I say don't worry about it and wheel in, locking the door and chuckling to myself.
To those of you interested, I love transferring onto the toilet in a public restroom (after I thoroughly wipe the seat - yuck). I dont' know why, except that I guess it just reminds me of what actual disabled people go through on a dialy basis. I don't have any sort of grab-bars or anything at home (a bit too obvious), so I live out that part of the fantasy in handicapped-accessible public restrooms. I used the 'butt shuffle' to get my shorts and panties down, and transferred, using the grab bars and toilet for support. After I finished, again with the butt-shuffle to slide my panties and shorts up, and then a quick transfer back into my wheelchair, adjust legs with hands, and I'm off to dinner.
I was going to go to a nearby Olive Garden for some Lasagne, but there was apparently a long wait (this was just about dinner time, so bad timing on my part, I always try for off-hours). I ended up at a 99 Restaraunt, and to my delight, was shown to my table right away. One of the problems with using a wheelchair is that I can't really do a booth well - sure, I can get in and out of it, but they can never leave my wheelchair there, and I feel kind of 'naked' without my chair in easy access. So I was seated at a regular table, and the waitress removed the chair so I could pull up to it. I'm not sure why, but I notice the looks I get a lot more in restaraunts. There was a table not far from mine with three elderly women, and they just kept looking at me - like obviously looking, even the one who had her back to me spun around a few times in her seat to gaze at me - it actually made me feel self-conscious, not for the wheelchair, but because I thought my hair was messed up or I had something in my teeth. I finally waved at them as they were looking at me, and they stopped. People can be so odd. I hope I'm not that obvious when I look at another woman in a wheelchair.
Dinner was delicious, I started with a nice green salad, then moved on to steak tips and a baked potato. It was very good, and very relaxing, and the waitress was very sweet, always asking if I needed anything (even more than the normal amount, I'm pretty sure). Finally I paid, leaving her a nice tip, and wheeled off to my car.
I did have to make one stop on the way home, at a large chain drugstore, to pick up a few things. While I was there, I noticed they had the brand of diaper I usually use, and remembered I was getting low, so I grabbed those too. There was a time that buying adult diapers made me very embarassed, but not any more, especially in my chair. I think it was probably more embarassing for the young woman behind the counter to ring them up. Finally through with my errands, I returned home for a relaxing evening and a rented video.