Do You Know What is a Good Thing?

Last spring, while enjoying a sunny day with my family at my sister's house, I had quite the charming conversation with my youngest nephew, Porter.  While his brothers were playing ball with their mom, my dad, and their aunt Helga, Porter sought to keep me company and took the opportunity to enjoy a little snack.  Being the great helper that he is, he offered me bites of his snack and requested that I let him know if I got full, or advise him when I was hungry and needed another bite. 

While we were snacking and chatting, he suddenly turned to me with a very serious expression and asked me, "Do you know what is a good thing?"  I naturally asked what, and he continued with, "Well, do you know when you sit for a long time and then it is hard to walk?"  I replied in the affirmative, figuring that he meant how it can be difficult to walk correctly if one's legs fall asleep.  Porter explained, "You do not have that, because you sit, then you lie down."  He then proceeded to lie back in his chair, assuming a rather stiff posture with his arms outstretched.  Looking straight ahead he said with a smirk, "Blah, blah, blah.  I am Loa.  I am talking to my computer.  What should I do?  Play video games?"

Well, if you cannot walk, at least you do not have to deal with that hassle.

One cannot argue with his logic; having my limbs fall asleep is a problem that does not exist for me for the simple reason that I go from sitting to lying without ever having to stand, let alone walk.  Furthermore, his opening of the conversation with, "Do you know what is a good thing?" made it very clear that he saw this as a positive consequence of my paralysis.  I expect in his mind it was something to the effect of, well, if you cannot walk, at least you do not have to deal with that hassle.  I know that I have spoken of good things that have come out of my accident, or even humorous benefits in Finding an Unlikely Silver Lining, but I love how his mind found something positive in my situation.

Porter assuming the "Loa position" in my bed.

I am certainly not perfect in how I cope with being paralyzed, but I believe I do a reasonably good job of viewing things in a positive light, with a sense of humor, or at the very least, boldly accepting reality for what it is.  Yet, seeing how my nephews view my situation in far more simple terms than I, or most people, might view a spinal cord injury, regardless of whether or not they have a positive or negative outlook, is extremely humbling.  It reminds me that there is a sense of peace in viewing me in my situation the way that they do.  They are not burdened by the baggage of perception, or trying to stay optimistic by seeing the good sides, they just regard my physical state for what it is and therefore, are unburdened by bias and can simply see aspects of it as good or bad, without qualifications.  Even if I am unable to live up to the example of seeing my life the way that Porter does, I can count on his perspective and commentary providing abundant amusement, smiles, wisdom, and laughter in the coming years.