I was already tired when I reached the church on East 74th Street which was the starting point for our Meals on Wheels deliveries. I’d already walked, taken a bus, ridden NJ Transit, the new Second Avenue subway and walked three more blocks to get there. But, the journey was for a good cause and I was on time.

I entertained our youngest volunteers while my mother and I waited for our list of addresses and the food. Then, 15 minutes later it was time to head off into the streets again.

My mother and I made one delivery before we got to the two deliveries in the historic building, The Cherokee. I hadn’t been in a building like it. It had an open courtyard with apartments facing it from four separate staircases. Our stops were on the third and fourth floors of the walk up. My mother leaned on the railing to hold her up while she used her bad hip to climb. I relied on my cane.

“Bless you for doing this,” said our first client. “You’re walking with a bad leg and she’s walking with a stick. This is nice of you.”

“No matter what, you gotta keep moving, right?” replied my mother.

I agreed. We both crept down the stairs, clinging to the wall as watching out for each other. We finished the rest of our stops in pain but certain our sacrifice was absolutely worth it.

#disability #cane #chronicillness #chronicpain #invisibleillness #mealsonwheels #nyc #autoimmunedisease #spoonies