Disabled, or just a lazy biped?

This is a tricky question. The columnist India Knight commented that she found the most frustrating thing about Christmas is the way that everyone else in her family stops being a biped and takes to their armchairs for the duration of the festivities, leaving her to do all the work. I am sure she is not alone in thinking that!

The question for me is to what extent am I using my disability as an excuse for not trying to do things, or is it a genuine barrier.

I am, for instance, unable to raise my arms above chest height, unless I ‘throw’ them upwards, which makes it difficult to get things down from cupboards (and almost impossible to put them back again); but Sally has noticed that I will go to great lengths to reach the chocolate she has stashed out of reach. By using my fingers to ‘walk’ up the sides of the cupboard and a lot of chocolate-inspired determination I can still reach my goal.

On the other hand I make virtually no contribution to preparing meals: I certainly could/should do more, as long as it doesn’t involve carrying hot things or bending down. However this is not a recent phenomenon as I have always been a ‘can cook, don’t cook’ sort of guy, but I now have an excuse, which I play on mercilessly.

There is a balance to be struck too between doing things doggedly and doing them safely. I can for instance carry light things up stairs if I move them forward ahead of me a few steps at a time before putting them down while I clamber up behind them, but that means I am not holding on to the handrail as I should. Yes it is good to contribute to sharing the household tasks (and I have always been obsessed about the danger of leaving things on the stairs), but not if it results in a fall.

I note too that I am able to commit myself to tasks that inspire me, such as repairing Sally’s bike (as long as she lifts it onto the bike stand first) and I can come up with creative ways to compensate for my lack of strength in using the tools, but other less inspiring tasks have been unceremoniously dumped.

I am conscious that Sally will be reading this blog before it is published and therefore we will have some negotiating to do first (!), but on balance I think I need to be pushed to be the best version of myself and not give up too easily just because things take longer or are done less competently than in the past. Inactivity is a slippery slope – the less you do the less your body is capable of doing and more importantly, the less your mind says you can do.

Sheep update

I know a number of you have developed an interest in the welfare of our flock of sheep.

Having culled them to eight we now need to plan for new lambs next season and, for reasons that currently escape me, we have bought a ram called Derek. (Yes, I know you need a ram if you want lambs – stop sniggering at the back – but in previous years we have rented a ram for a couple of months rather than looked to own one 🙄).

One thing for sure is that Derek, despite not being in the first flush of youth, has not been ‘backwards in coming forwards’ and there are a lot of very tired-looking sheep in the orchard at present! We may have a lazy biped to contend with, but when it comes to quadrapeds it is all action. 😂