Help

When my daughter was moving recently, Hurricane and Tornado were being looked after by their other grandmother while I was pretending to help move. She brought the kids over at one point during the move and Hurricane ran right into the thick of things, up stairs and downstairs to see what was going on. Moves are pretty momentous and exciting for a four and a half year old. Tornado on the other hand seemed to be a little overwhelmed by all of the activity. He found a friendly face (me), reached his arms towards the sky and said "UP". I picked him up and from his vantage point in my arms he could see everything that was going on and was safe. We all need help from time to time.

Today, I was walking to my physio appointment and a man in a van asked if I could give him a hand. I was wondering if he was going to offer me candy, but I’m not young enough or cute enough to worry, so I said "Sure, just so long as I don't miss my appointment." He told me that he needed help with his wheelchair and would I mind getting it from the back of the van for him. No problem! He thanked me and I went on my way mulling over just which one of the Gods to thank for my health and good fortune. I am sure that when this guy first needed his wheel chair it was tough to ask a stranger for help. Maybe it still is, but sometimes need over rules pride.

When we are kids, we need help all of the time. You need help getting dressed, eating,  playing and learning all of the things that we need to know in order to live in this complex society. Lucky for us, we have people that love us we call mom, dad, poppa, grandma and uncles and aunts who are more than willing to give us what we need. I suppose that there are places in this world where children are all alone and have to rely on strangers for help. Being that alone would just be horrible.

Once we reach adulthood, we feel that we should be able to deal with anything that presents itself to us. This is true for the most part, but there are times and situations that  we just can't cope with. Sometimes there are physical problems, sometimes financial problems and still other times we have emotional and psychological difficulties. Family and friends can help with some of these difficulties, but lucky for us, we live in a society that tries to do the right thing by its people by building social safety nets. Not always successfully, but I believe the desire is there. Well, unless there is a conservative government in power at the time.

Often the biggest barrier is realizing that you actually have a problem. I have put up with an extremely painful shoulder for seven or eight months, hoping that it will heal itself. I didn't do anything to cause the pain, so it stands to reason that I shouldn't have to do anything to make it feel better. It took months to convince myself to go to the doctors because I don't particularly like doctors in general and being ill in particular. She sent me for tests and they failed to find anything wrong with me. She suggested that physio might help, but I started to think I can live without my right arm. I can't. So, here I am going to physio every few days and hoping that it might just help.

I have suspected for some time now that I have a tendency towards depression. I blame the way I feel on lethargy, winter blues, lack of initiative and any number of other excuses. I suppose that it is tough to admit that I have a problem that is beyond my capability to deal with. The depression will just have to wait until I am ready to get the help I need. I didn't do anything to be depressed about, so I shouldn't have to do anything to fix the problem. Right?...right? Perhaps I might just have to find a friendly face, lift my arms to the sky and say "UP?"