Life Goes On!
The following is the Expert Update article from the Spring 2013 Making a Difference.
Life Goes On!
By Pat Nobbie, PhD, Mia's Mom
In the past six weeks, both Mia and I have learned a few things being this far away from each other. First, this is really a reminder and not a new realization, transportation is a huge pain in the neck. Most of the phone calls I have received from ANYONE who works for or with Mia, including Mia herself, has been on this topic.
Even though she has lots of support and para-transits to work three days a week, things happen and rides need to be arranged, changed, cancelled or added. I'm the first person Mia would contact when any of the transportation snafus occurred. My usual modus operandi was to start the rounds of texts or phone calls, find out what happened and then try to fix it. Because I am the LEAST capable of fixing anything since I am in DC, this had to change. It was a big day when Mia called from the hospital where she works and told me the bus didn't come. The next time I heard from her, she had called her Dad and he took her home. Laura and I were cheering!
So, I learned I wasn't the center anymore. Even though my mommy emotions roared up if she called me upset about something, I had to take a breath and tell her to talk to whoever was involved and they would work it out. It reminds me of when I realized that the hair brained but "very scary plans" my other two kids would come up with when they were teenagers went away if I didn't react with panic. Instead, I'd take a breath and respond, "Really? Get back to me on that." And inevitably, the very scary plans would fall apart. Mia and her team are working it out. As Laura wrote me after one upset over a dessert, "It's family stuff, like any other family."
Otherwise, it's been pretty much as I wrote in the last issue – nothing in her life would change except that she wouldn't see me every week or so. She calls each night at 8:05 PM, and sometimes at lunchtime from the cafeteria at work. She got a cold, but got taken care of. Her phone got stolen, but Joe took her to get a new one. Her prescriptions are getting filled, she's getting to swimming, the University of Georgia, birthday parties, bowling and church. The AAAAAAAAA is sticking on her computer, but Fabersha will take her to Best Buy to get it cleaned and they'll figure it out from there.
On February 20, I blew into Athens, took her to her doctor's appointment, picked up her aunt and uncle at the airport and then drove to Montgomery to surprise grandpa for his 80th birthday. We hung out for a few days, took my dad out to dinner, replenished her sock supply and other little things.
Then we went back to Hartsfield, I dropped everyone off and put Mia on Groome Transportation back to Athens where the Whitakers picked her up. She just said, "I'll miss you Mom," and "I'll call you tonight." I got on a plane and flew back to DC. Ooo blah dee Ooo blah da. Life is going on!
