A Conversation Worth Having

And so it goes… it started with a moderately benign question, then turned to yet another outpouring of my heart onto paper, or buttons to the screen on my Blackberry, as it were.

“How do you stay positive dude? I keep getting more and more bad news, I don’t know how to deal anymore I can’t even be happy for others…“

I suppose that’s a difficult question for anyone to answer. Anyone, that is, except for me. I know precisely how I remain positive, why despite being confined to (though never defined by) my wheelchair, I never lose the smile on my face, even though I recently got into an argument with my floor, and wouldn’t you know it, the floor won. In the words of Katt Williams (I warn you now, this is not safe for work and contains explicit language, but is entertaining no less), “life is short. You’ve got to take care of your star player!”

I am the writer, director, and producer of my adult life. I am my own star player. So to answer the question, I laid out why, shedding a few tears along the way. As if effortlessly, the realization became clear to me: honestly, I do it for my family. I have no intent on giving up. That’s the cowards way out – and ‘Momma didn’t raise no cowards…’

I love my nephew so much. He is the newest addition to my life, and I am doing everything in my power to be there for him. I want to be around when he scores his first goal. I want to be there when he graduates from school. I want to be the best “Uncle Andy” that I can be; he deserves no less. And he’s just part of the equation. I have people who keep me going – Rachel, Julia, Joanna, my Mother, my Grandmother, my Aunts & Uncles, Oli, Matthew, Mark, and baby Gabriel. MS took my Dad from me, from my whole family really; I wouldn’t dream of letting it take ME too. So I fight. Everyday, no matter what. I fight for THEM. This is a beautifully fabricated perpetual motion machine – they tell me how much I inspire them, which in turn inspires me to keep doing whatever it is I do.

Some things need to be shared. This is one of them. I guess I’ll have to come up with something original to put in everyone’s Christmas cards this year, as this diatribe is going to get eaten up, no doubt.

Remember to chase what’s important. It’s that simple.

-A.D.

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