Watch out

I spent the morning looking out the window at the snow
Watching
A couple walk by with their dog
Two teenagers go past with
Snow shovels over their shoulders
A few kids with a sled.

And then there was me.
By the window.
In my wheelchair.

Until I couldn’t stand it.

Throwing open the front door, I rolled down the ramp.
Snow flew up smearing my glasses.
I landed at the bottom, my wheels crunching
As I sank into a pile of snow .

Watch out.

Several neighbors looked away
You’d think I was a terrorist
As they scurried and hurried inside their homes.
How ironic, I thought, that
They might now be looking out their window at me
Watching.
A strange reversal of fortune.

Having sunk as low as a wheelchair user can go
I no longer cared about rescue.
Either the snow and ice would melt under me
Eventually
Or AAA wheelchair services would come along
To tow me out.

Either way
I decided
I preferred
Spending the afternoon outside in the snow.

Copyright 2007 Ruth Harrigan