Sharing Life Over Coffee
While I don’t do it often, there is something special about getting a sweet, hot cup of caramel macchiato with whipped cream and sprinkles on top from a coffee shop. It’s such a treat, but ultimately pricey!
A friend asked me the other day if I wanted to go out for coffee and then amended her question with, “We could just go to my house and have coffee! I have a Keurig coffee maker and lots of different kinds of coffee. And,” she added, “I even have some whipped cream we can spray on top!”
I laughed. “You know what? Let’s go to your house. That makes a lot more sense!” So off we go and spend the next couple hours drinking an un-determined amount of coffee while catching up on life and chatting about anything that comes to mind, without having to spend several dollars for a single coffee.
A Disability Can Change Things
While this may sound like a trivial matter, what about the person who has a disability? Randomly going ‘out’ for coffee can be a stressful matter! We are about to enter the biggest holiday seasons of the year; Thanksgiving and Christmas. It seems everyone is out and about, but what if they’re not? What if getting ‘out’ is difficult because of funds, or the lack of mobility to get to the coffee shop to have a cup of hot delicacy?
What’s surprising to me is the statistically high rise in loneliness during the holidays. I am so happy during this season, that my brain has a difficult time wrapping itself around this idea. Yet I know it’s truth. As winter sets in and everyone is running in different directions, we as peers, tend to forget those who aren’t as mobile.
We focus on our particular gatherings, parties, shopping and other obligations and neglect (perhaps even unintentionally reject) that everyone isn’t doing the same. When going to a Christmas tree lighting in the center of town, how often do you see someone in a wheelchair? In a cold climate, navigating snowy sidewalks or even just throngs of busy people, any disability equipment can seem cumbersome.
This is the time of year for joy, love, happiness and general feelings of good will, yet not everyone experiences these amazing emotions during this ‘busy’ time. Sitting with a friend after shopping and sharing a warm drink isn’t as simple as it sounds.
A Holiday of Inclusion
Rather than including a disabled friend at the last minute, perhaps this will be the year we can make the effort for inclusion from the very beginning. When you are planning an event be certain you not only invite them, but invite them early so they can make preparations. In addition make the proper preparations for accommodating their specific need. It may mean altering a location, or in some other way being sure any necessary equipment can be utilized.
Even if you are not having an ‘event’ we should all do our best to remember to include our disabled friends and neighbors during this season of ‘thankfulness’ and celebration of Christmas. Share a meal, dessert, or coffee. But mostly share generously of time. In the busy-ness in which we find ourselves, this one element, —which is ours to freely give— offer to someone whose disability limits them the ability to gather and fellowship with others.
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#ShareTime #BusySeason #DisabledFriend #DisabledNeighbor #NecessaryEquipment #InviteTheDisable #ThanksgivingDinner
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