The other day I was watching Hannah make her way around the house with her walker and it really struck me, how much it must SUCK to have to drag this big metal thing around with her all day when all she wants to do is get quickly from point A to point B and keep up with her sister, have her hands free, and not keep crashing into the walls or getting stuck trying to go around corners. It made me really sad. I keep myself so focused on Hannah's progress with her walker (now she can lift the front wheels, now she can steer, soon she will be able to lift herself into and out of it safely...) that I don't allow myself to stop and look at exactly what it is that she's walking around in as she tries to go about her day like a typical almost-3 year old. I haven't looked that closely at her walker, in fact, since we got it. I've chosen instead to look past it, toward the potential it holds for Hannah in terms of independent mobility.
Ultimately that independence, in whatever form it takes, is what is most important for Hannah. She tells us regularly that this is what she wants. "I want to go on the potty. I want to climb into my chair myself. I want to walk around. I want to push the baby stroller...." and so on.
And I want this for her as well. I just with she could attain these goals without needing to lug her walker around with her. Grateful as we are that she has one and has figured out how to use it, it weighs her down and holds her back. And Hannah's spirit, well it's light as air and just wants to FLY. Maybe her next walker model after she grows out of this one will come with wings.
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