It's all okay
I was driving across town today and it occurred to me how silly I must look. I'm carrying an oxygen tank full-time now, with a hose pushing oxygen into my nostrils. No, that's not actually the funny part. I happened to be driving Greg's (my husband) car, which is an old minivan loaded down with a canoe rack on top and a bicycle rack on the back. Anyone looking at the vehicle itself would assume the driver was an athletic, outdoorsy type. Instead, here I am, a 50 year-old woman who drives around for 10 minutes in a parking lot looking for the closest spot I can find, and then, walking slowly and deliberately, heads straight for the door (no extra footsteps for me, I'm all rationed out. If I encounter stairs, I usually have to stop on the 5th step to catch my breath). I imagine that people look at me when I'm in that car and scratch their heads trying to piece it together.
I've decided to think of this oxygen tank as a new and different accessory. It even gave me an excuse to go shopping for a new handbag, which as it turned out, is a small backpack with enough space for the tank AND my usual purse contents. It is actually a Camelbak hydration system for cyclists, but after removing the bladder, my small O2 tank fits inside perfectly, with a little room left over for my necessities in external pockets. A shopper questioned me about it at the grocery store, because her mother is still lugging around the uncomfortable and cumbersome bag that comes with the tank. I referred her to REI and recommended that she bring the tank (and her mother) along to test it out.
The hose and canula are the parts of the thing that really make me feel old. I mentioned to a coworker that I was thinking of threading some beads on the tubing to make a fashion statement. With a perfectly straight face, he replied (yes, 'HE!') that what I need to do is to Bedazzle it.
I'm considering it.
No comments:
Post a Comment