While I always wanted to “fit in,” as a child and as an adult, I have been called to lead an extraordinary and unconventional life. One that is steeped in experience and learning appreciation for life in all of its forms. From traveling to Australia during college to discovering love on wheels, again and again, I am called to be an adventurer. The road is full of amazing relationships, the deep heartache of loss, and the soaring elation of success.  

From a very young age, I was able to understand that the body needed different types of healing. With a mother who lived with Multiple Sclerosis, I navigated the joys and challenges of living in the world a little bit differently. I learned compassion, empathy, and living life on your own terms. As an artist, her color palate was wide.  

 

 

In college, I came to her lamenting, “I can’t draw. I’m going to fail in this class. What am I going to do?” Without a word, she turned the print of Matisse upside down, put a pastel in my left non-denominate hand, and left the room.  

Sadly, she passed away in 2001 due to a reaction to a medication, recalled by the FDA and is somehow still on the market. As a young adult experiencing motherloss and dismissed when speaking to her physicians, I am still working through remaining effects of grief – how to work through the medical system, one that is fraught with life-saving advances and devastating caveats. How to grow old gracefully, take care of my body, and understand the limits of traditional medicine is a complicated process, one that I continue to navigate.

 

After my mother passed away, I was surviving life, but not living it. Introduced to martial arts one day by some friends, I showed up knowing I needed to discover how to live again. I worked through my grief, not only from the loss of my mother but of a relationship as well. I wasn’t expecting to find love.  And love showed up before my eyes. I fell in love with a man who has Cerebral Palsy who is a poet, martial artist, and adventurer.  

Over the years, we’ve lived through many experiences that have challenged us. In our life and love together, I have experienced the depth and color of life and all that it has to offer to us. Whether we are travelling across the country or in deep conversation staring at the oak tree in the back yard, every day I am challenged to live each day deeper than the last. 

Everyone seems to be intrigued about how we live our lives. Every day we have an opportunity to break down barriers and stereotypes about inter-ability relationships, sharing our story through how we live.  

When others see Barton and I together, they see a love and joy that we bring to life, and we often break down barriers. If people see a man in a wheelchair living life out loud, then why can’t we all?  

What limits do we place on ourselves every day.