Simple

      The beauty of living so close to The Chi is that my friends can come spend the weekend with me on a whim. It's an escape for them and a relief for me. I spent Friday under the stars on the deck with Rosie, Wrigley, a 6er and a pizza. We reminisced on failed relationships from high school, drunken adventures in Forest Park and moments that made us who we are. Once it got too cold to bear we went inside and binge watched The Office just like we would have in high school. We polished off a bag of chips, the cold pizza and hit hay.

      My boy Kamm, and Emily came out in the afternoon on Saturday. We went up to the grocery store for some essentials, mainly some Shandy's, and then went back to the deck yet again. We jammed out to some tunes, knocked back a few, told some jokes, reminisced again. Then the Rockford Speedway took off in full form. Thanks to the southwest winds it sounded like the drag strip was in my backyard. This didn't slow us down. We headed for the front yard. In the front yard we picked up where we left off. Tunes back on, beers back on ice. This is when I started to joke that Emily should give my power chair a spin. I'm incredibly grateful that I have the insurance to cover such a great accommodation, but at the same time I can't lie, the thing scares me. It makes me think about the future when I might not be able to push myself in the manual chair. Emily cruised for a bit, but then Kamm asked for the reigns. Once he got behind the wheel all goofiness ensued. He was off-roading the thing, "threading the needle," drag racing passing cars, pushing it to the limit. He turned to me and said , "the boss should be behind the reigns." We switched rides. Mark to the manual, I to the motor, and tore up the driveway. I tore off up the street and stared up at the sky thanking God for the fun and support my friends gave me this weekend. All the while I wanted the evening to continue forever because I can't help but feel that my days are fleeting. I know this feeling gets me nowhere but it's hard to block out sometimes. The grass has wheel marks that will fade, my manual chair is dinged up from off-roading, my hands are dirty from gripping the tires. 

      The normalcy my friends, family, and Michelle show me is where I find Grace. ALS or not, the time I spent with Rosie, Kamm, Emily and Chelle can't be taken away from me. I'll let the picture do the talking for me. It's simple. I found God's Grace today.