Handicap Parking Lines

A lot of people have told me they love the idea of me sharing more of my thoughts and concerns about MD on my blog. So here is something that has been on my mind the past couple of weeks.

There are a few different groups on Facebook that I am in that revolve around Muscular Dystrophy. Many people in these groups have shared very similar stories about people parking their motor bikes, scooters, and shopping carts inside the handicap lines. I'm not yet in a wheelchair, but I can understand their frustration. Those lines are meant for people in wheelchairs to get in and out of their car with a ramp. If something is in the way of those lines, they can't get out of their car and do the things they came to do. I've heard that some of them will sit in their car until whomever parked in the lines is done with their shopping and moves, so that they can get out of their car, which could be up to an hour.

I feel absolutely awful when I read those posts because I am one of the people that puts my shopping cart in those lines. I don't mean to cause any inconvenience for my fellow handicap people. Most places that I go in and shop by myself are mainly grocery or clothing stores. I have loved online grocery shopping, but occasionally I need to go in. Most of these places don't have shopping cart holders by the handicap parking spots; some do, but most don't. I think people assume that we can just walk back in to the front of the store or find a spot down a ways to park our shopping carts. If you are driving a motor-shopping cart, I really don't understand this. Obviously you struggle to walk that you need to drive the motor-shopping cart, but there is no where to park it that is close to your car.

I generally always have Cali with me. I don't want to leave her in my car with people and weirdoes' around while I try and find a shopping cart holder. I also don't want to walk back into the store to put my cart away. So I usually just leave my shopping cart at the very front of the handicap parking lines, hoping and praying that the next person to park there isn't in a wheelchair OR that the companies employees will come move it for me.

Not only does this bother me, but I can see other shoppers looking at me with angry and upset eyes because they too understand the struggle for wheel-chaired people, or they just think I'm lazy and can't put it away.

I've struggled with this thought for a couple weeks now, that I've lately just drove up and down parking isles to find a spot that's extremely close to a shopping cart holder so that I don't have to worry about ditching Cali in the car. BUT, these cart holders are generally further away from the front of the store, so carrying her in or pushing her in a cart is extremely tiring and hard. That's why I have a handicap pass.

This situation may be easy for some people to fix and I may be overthinking things. I really don't want to make it hard for any fellow handicap people, but I also need to be aware of what I can and can't do with my little girl and where I'm at with my disability.

Any thoughts or advice would be great!