One Step at a Time

Today was an exciting day for me.  My son, who is now almost 11 months old, has crawled for the first time.  He's a bit of a mover and shaker.  He couldn't wait to figure the whole "crawling" thing out, and has actually been locomoting by rolling around on the floor for well over two months now.  Arm up, out of the way.  Back to front, front to back.  Pushing his foot on stationary objects and twisting to change his direction.  But today, he crawled.  For the first time.

And I'm revel in his accomplishment.  Because just a short three years ago, I, myself, learned how to walk.  Again.

I've been thinking about it a lot lately.  You'll have seen my post last week about my accident - and how I refuse to let it hold me back.

You may have seen fairly recent press coverage about Adrianne Haslet-Davis.  She was a young, passionate, award-winning ballroom dancer.  On April 15, 2013, she was downtown Boston, near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.  I'm sure it was just like any other day - until a bomb went off, almost killing her and her husband Adam, a vetran from Afganistan.

But it didn't kill her or her husband.  They were both badly injured.  And Adrianne lost a portion of her leg.  Which for her, as a dancer, could have been just as tragic.

Instead, shortly after the accident, Adrianne told ABC news "I just want people to know that you can come out of a situation that might seem like the end of the world and come out stronger."

She hasn't let this tragic event hold her back.  She undertook intensive physiotherapy.  She went through several prosthetic limbs before finding one that was precise enough to let her dance again. 

And she did.  She's dancing.

I admire her strength and her courage.  

And it's moments like these that I remember how important these "little steps" are.  To Bae.  To me.  To Ms Haslet-Davis.  And today, for Memorial Day, it's for us to remember not only the veterans who haven't come back.  We should also take time to remember and support the veterans who have returned.  Especially those who have been changed, sometimes visibly, sometimes not, by their experiences.

There's no going back now - only forward.

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