Friday, November 15, 2019

Present Day Life with My Rollator

Casting a long shadow
Almost three years after my rollator prep on the bridge, I can happily affirm that having a rollator offers giant-sized satisfaction for me! 

Hubby and I indulge in early morning or evening walks on our town’s paved Front Beach walking path, me with my rollator, Hubby with either his Nikon or my iPhone. 

He was behind me when he took the photo above. The rising sun created our combined giant-sized shadow.

Being outside and enjoying the breezes, views, walking path and sense of community with other beachgoers is priceless. My rollator is a huge factor in those experiences. 

A sunset walk at the beach (Photo by Hubby)


Having a rollator as a part of our family is not without mishaps, though. During a recent trip in the Smokies and Blue Ridge mountains, we stopped at a pullout in Virginia for Hubby to rearrange some items rattling around in the back of our van. 

He lifted my rollator out of the sliding side door, set it down a few feet from the van and set to work securing things inside. I stayed seated in the passenger seat, enjoying the vistas around me and the mill ponds 40 or so feet on the mountainside below.

What neither of us realized was the rollator was not locked. It was taking its own scenic tour down the adjacent slope, an extremely steep slope. 

I was oblivious; but as soon as he stepped out of the van, Hubby realized the racket he heard while he was in the van was the rollator’s escape. He alerted me that he was going to retrieve it. 

Soon he was back with the errant rollator, and we hit the road again. 

He had avoided going down that steep mountainside and found an easier descent down a gently sloping path past the millponds and the rushing stream that long ago powered a mill.

I am embarrassed to admit that I had stuffed the rollator basket with brochures and fact sheets I had collected at visitor centers and other sites but had never read. Most of his mountainside retrieval operation was gathering up that collection. 

It occurred to me that in addition to showing its age, my rollator has taken on a personality of its own. 

Maybe I need to give it a name the way old cars or trucks earn a name when they become part of the family, just like the first car of my childhood memories, a 1947 Chevrolet my parents dubbed “Old Betsy.”

I have yet to come up with a name that captures the rollator’s  character: usefulness spiced with a dash of mischief. 


-30-

9 comments:

  1. What great pictures! I especially love the sky in the second one. Hmmm, a name for the rollator. The only thing that comes to mind is Rascal.

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  2. that first photo is so beautiful and shows the most perfect place for you to walk with your rollator. oh my! I have a minds eye view of poor hubby retrieving the rollator and all those papers... maybe name her Addy, short for Adventures..... I do like the name Maggie or Abby... lets see what others say

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  3. That was funny but only in retrospect. So glad he was able to corral the runaway rollator. Met a friend I hadn't seen in a while in the doctor's office and she was sporting a rollator also. Love the idea that you always have a seat with you. Who ever invented it was brilliant.

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  4. Life has those moments. Moments that at the time can be burdensome, but later are cause to chuckle.

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  5. Oh, I LOVE Long Shadows...this one is great. So glad your hubby could round up your rollator. Now you got me trying to thing of a name for it. But I guess that is best left to someone who knows it personally.

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  6. I love the long shadows too.
    Oh my what an adventure your Rollator had.
    Your Hubby is a true hero..
    I kind of like Rascal too.

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  7. What lovely photos, especially of the view in the second one. So glad your hubby was able to catch up with your rollator before it came to a bad end. I kind of like Starting Over's name suggestion--Rolly. Maybe Rolly the Rascal?

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  8. Beautiful photos! I'm leaning to Rolly, though I don't want to encourage the habit of rolling away.

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