Parking Spots

When you have a child with a handicap, you learn how to do things so that they can function.  My son was visually impaired.  We learned that as an adult, he can't walk out of a store and look down a row of cars and pick out our car.  So we learned to park in the same spot, that way if he ever got lost or turned around, he would know where the car is.  Today, when I grocery shopped, it made me smile and think of him, because I *still* park in that same parking spot when I go to that store.  And the same at every other store I go to:  the same parking spot every time.  In case he ever needs to find me.

I know that in reality, he will never need to do that again, but I still do the same thing.  And maybe that's a good thing because as I get older, maybe *I* will be the one who forgets where I parked a car!   But that doesn't happen when you park in the same spot week after week.  lol   Yes, it's a little OCD but it's also affirming in that I won't be one of those who is walking around a parking lot with a basket full of groceries and not finding my car! 

That reminds me of a time living in Ohio.  Brian was signing up to attend Sinclair Community College.  I drove him and found all the places he needed to go.  We parked in a multi story parking garage, did our errands and when we were done, of course I was leading the way to the parked car because that's the dynamic he and I had.  I walked right to where I assumed the car would be, next to the pole, about 10 spaces from the stairwell.  But the car wasn't there!!  After working all day, and driving him in the evening hours to a school I hadn't been to, I was quickly starting to panic.  Brian said push the car alarm button.  I did, and we could hear it!  But we never saw the flash of the headlights.  Push it again, Mom!!  And then, because his hearing is much better than mine, he said it's one floor up!  We ... no, *I* had miscalculated which floor we parked on!  So we went up one more flight of stairs, and there just where I knew it would be was our car.  Talk about a flood of relief!  Every time we parked at Sinclair, we made sure we knew the floor *before* we walked away from the garage.  lol 

 Sometimes it's the little things in life that we tend to take for granted that become wonderful memories  :)    I miss my son every single day!