sexy parties, or, how I spent my winter vacation, part 3

Hi, I'm Amanda Birdwell. You might remember me from such anxiety attacks as "What if I get Lou Gehrig's Disease" and "Quadriplegia and Me".

Seriously, one of the reasons I care about new moms is that, after I managed to work out my breastfeeding issues (and then some -- see Enough with the Boobs; see also my son at 12, 1, 3, and 6 this morning), I still had about 5 weeks of maternity leave, much of which my son spent sleeping. This freed me up to panic about medical conditions I did not (do not) have that scare me.

In a sort-of-desperate effort to feel in control of a "situation" (one which your average non-anxierty-disordered person might instead call a "non-issue" or "kinda insane"), I started emailing the New York City Spinal Cord Injury Association, asking if there was anything I could do to help them. It seemed to me that if I couldn't walk, but could still work, and get around, and care for my son, I could feel okay. So I wanted to help people who are finding ways to do that.

The thing is that people who actually have to deal with something like a spinal cord injury do just that, and end up pretty good at finding ways to help and advocate for themselves. While they are actually super friendly and not too weirded out by my emails (I hope), they often don't have a lot of roles for volunteers who don't have a spinal cord injury.

So imagine my surprise and delight this winter vacation when one of the leaders emailed me, invited me to their general meeting, and asked me to help with their Fat Tuesday fundraiser next month! While my track record for attending evening events (which require me to miss Bedtime Routine and risk messing with the bull/getting the horns of Mac's fury) is generally pretty poor, I managed to drag myself to Mt. Sinai for their meeting on Tuesday.

It was actually totally awesome, both because it made it seem to me that while injuring one's spinal cord is a drag, it is one of any number of shitty things that can be dealt with when one is smart, resourceful, funny and confident. Given the choice between a party of people in wheelchairs and a party of people who obsess about wheelchairs, I know which one I'd choose.

Moreover, I'm now able to tell everyone about their awesome Mardi Gras party fundraiser, at which I will be volunteering and there will be all kinds of music, free food, and a cash bar. Speaking as someone who obsesses about how to do good, I feel the world would be better were there more opportunities to do good while eating Cajun food and getting drunk.

So, I learned something today. I learned that, whether one must use a wheelchair to move from place to place or an elaborate system of coping strategies, crutches, and rituals to keep one's shit together, having a party is almost always a solution.

Obsessive googling, on the other hand, almost never is.