Nothing will Change - Mia's Space from MAD Winter'13
The following is the Mia's Space article from the Winter 2013 Making a Difference magazine.
Nothing will Change...
By Pat Nobbie, PhD, Mia's Mom
Nothing will change in your life, except that you won't see me every weekend. This was my main point in explaining to Mia what it will be like when I move to Washington, DC for my new job. And, it's true! Mia already has a pretty busy life, and soon she starts a new job, which will keep her even busier. She'll be working in the surgical nursing unit at St. Mary's Hospital as office support to the nurses.
Mia has been through training, health screenings and thanks to creative thinking by Briggs, her stamina has been built up over the past months by walking nearly every morning with Alex. She has scrubs, white shoes and a badge. She is even riding paratransit regularly now! Needless to say she is pretty excited.
Mia has always been a stickler with schedules. This can get frustrating, but on the whole, it is enormously helpful. As long as you get it on her calendar, she's on it. And, she reminds everyone what's up. In fact, she'll just come right out and say, "I'm a genius on the calendar." So she'll work every day Monday to Friday, four hours a day. After work on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, she'll go to the UGA Ramsey Center for her "Healthy Living Class." On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she'll go swim at the Y with her team, the Piranhas. On Saturday she does her wash and grocery shops with Laura or Joe and on Sunday she goes to church. She has other things as well, social events with her friends, dinner and a movie, fundraising events for her favorite camp, the Big Hearts Pageant, etc.
Even now when I want to go visit, I have to get on her calendar and it's too bad for me if I interfere with something that's already on her schedule. Some weekends, it's a real negotiation! And every night, without fail, she calls at 8:05 PM or soon after. From afar, we'll do face time and that way we can see each other when we talk.
So I told her, everything that you already do will be exactly the same. The only thing that will be different is that you won't have to fit me in on the weekend! I think she's going to be OK. She'll probably be great. And the reason I say that is over the years, during lots of different types of transitions, she's always risen to or surpassed my expectations. I should probably be more
concerned about myself.
Seeing her, getting her hugs, checking on her clothes, household supplies, doctor's appointments, arranging transportation or puttering around her apartment is something I've done habitually. I know I don't have to ... the people in her life, paid and unpaid, are wonderful and will manage fine. Her siblings, her dad and many friends are around. She gathers people to her, and she gives a whole lot in return.
This will be a growing year for both of us! Keep us in your thoughts!
