Rainy days can be the best days. Those wet afternoons when you don’t have anywhere to be, and you comfortably ball up on the couch and finish that novel you’ve been toting around for the last three months or binge watch that show everyone has been talking about. On those occasions, nothing beats a rainy day.
But when you do want to go somewhere as important as Church, a community event, or as simple as the grocery store; the rain can be a real drag, a darn right deterrent. Well multiply that emotion times ten, and we might come close to knowing how a caregiver of a person with mobility challenges feels.
It takes a lot of planning to go somewhere when it rains. First, the caregiver has to prepare how to get their special person into the car, especially if she doesn’t have covered parking. In that case, she must plan how to do so without everyone getting soaking wet.
Such was the case for my family when we went to church this past Sunday. It was drizzling only a little when we left home, but by the time we were nearing the sanctuary, the sky had really opened up wide, and it was raining horses and cows. As discussed prior to our drive to church, I would let everyone out under the portico, park the car, and meet them inside the church. When church service was over, the rain was still coming down heavily, so my mother took a turn walking quite a distance to her parked car while I stood to wait with my wheelchair bound sister.
Well, how much more pleasant this scenario could have been had their been parkers for handicapped church attendees? Imagine, young, vibrant sneaker wearing, umbrella-toting, valet drivers who give you a ticket once you pull under the portico, then help you out of the car, takeout the wheelchair and assist your special needs person getting in the chair and inside the church without being drenched. Imagine how many more people might attend the service that day.
If you attend a large church as I do or if you are sponsoring an event of any kind and it happens to start pouring, perhaps you will consider offering valet parking for your handicapped guests. It’s a thought, and since all actions begin with one, I hope and pray this one thought will reach the powers that be.
