Summer Chapter

     It's freaking summer! At least it is for most teachers and students alike, Michelle still has four days and it seems like a cruel joke. Most of us have traditions for the summer, especially those of us in the Midwest. We've got twelve weeks to pack as much entertainment, excitement and relaxation into as possible. We've got dozens of wedding activities on our calendar. We dodged them last year but they caught up with us. Weddings are a Pintrest tornado that impact everything in their path, they're never simple no matter how hard you try, yet they inevitably end up being fun. I used to have a blast at weddings. I'd dress up all dapper, figure out who would be my drinking partner, usually get hammered but get away with it with my charm and dance moves. Wheelchair bound, no booze and needing assistance with every physical movement impacts wedding season for me.
     Others are packing their summers with outdoor activities that Bass Pro Shop marketed all winter. My Pops is jacked to get off the grid, put on his '90's, ugly Bears hat and fish from dawn until dusk. Other friends are waking their hibernated boats to dock at the lake for skiing, tubing and Tomfoolery. My Mom, Eliza, and Kurt will escape to Washington Island for extended periods of time where time seems to stop. Kamm and the boys may venture to Baraboo, where we conquered the bluffs around Devil's Lake and drank more Michelob Ultra Golden Light than a platoon returning home from war. Before ALS, my Summer Chapter's were always focused on getting off the grid, being near water, turning off technology, reading books I put off and interchangeably swapping coffee highs and beer buzzes. Now I can't escape the grid. My life and happiness depends on technology. I can't stand inches from the cliff, I can't flip the canoe for a laugh, I can't drive the car onto the ferry boat, I can't eat the steak at the wedding, or take a shot, or pinch Michelle's butt on the dance floor.
     I'm sure by now I've got most of my readers shedding tears, but know I'm not crying. Sure, my Summer Chapter looks a shit load different this year than it has in years past, but this just gives me the opportunity to throw summer tradition in the fire. With ALS, your chapters become sub-chapters, or more like a bullet point list. Every day I wake, I get to cross off point A, and every night I go to bed with Michelle, I get to cross off point Z. The other 24 points have a way of finding themselves into my plans whether I schedule them, or they appear by God's Grace. As long as I continue to check off point A and point Z I'll make the most of this summer. If one day I don't, you know where I'll be, I'll be off the grid in Heaven doing all the things I love and miss about what we all love about summer.

 Bluffs around Devil's Lake, Wisconsin