For a long time, I have found it a challenge to get my keys out of a bag or pocket, fit the key into the lock and turn the key to lock or unlock a door.
Imagine my dismay, earlier this week, to have eventually got the key in the front door lock only to find I was unable to turn it far enough to open the door. I tried and tried, left handed, right handed, both hands. I knocked the door several times but no-one replied. Fairly typical for my teenage son, rarely seen without headphones, not to hear someone knocking at the door. Not one to give in easily, I tried for a whole, long ten minutes before admitting defeat. A whole deluge of negative thoughts filled my mind during this time about the implications of this deterioration in my dexterity.
Despondent, I sat on the doorstep and to get around the headphone issue, I phoned my son to ask him to let me in.
He was at the park with the dog. Having left the house unoccupied, he had set the alarm and locked the mortice lock on the front door.
So rare it has become during lockdown that I arrive home to an empty house, I hadn’t even considered that this might be the case. A few minutes later, after unlocking the mortice lock first, I unlocked the Yale lock and opened the door. Nothing to do with my dexterity or lack of it at all!
Let that be a lesson to me: 1) Not to blame Parkinson’s for everything 2) Not to overlook the obvious 3) Not to assume the worst 4) To keep some perspective.
Thank goodness my son had reminded me of the code to unlock the alarm, as I’m not sure I would have remembered it after so long but in an effort to learn my lessons from today, I’m going to put that down to my age and not worry about that either!
Images Source: Clip Art Library
Challenging Times 