Not just an empty spot!

Have you ever been driving through the grocery store parking lot?  Like most of us on a busy day it seems like every spot that isn’t a 15 minute walk away is taken.  Then you spot an empty space, one right in the front, but it is a handicapped spot…and you think I will only be a minute, who really cares anyway?

How about bringing your kids to school? You are running late, crazy morning, (we all have them)…no time for carpool line…so you just pull into the only empty space in front of the school office…the handicapped spot. I mean you will only be a minute! No big deal!

How about that you have a handicapped tag.  I mean it isn’t for you, but what does that matter it is in your car! What does it matter that  you could park a few spots down or drop your kids off at the carpool lane…who is it going to hurt anyway?

Well the part most people don’t think about is that there is a real reason that little blue sign is there for, the real person who doesn’t have a choice of spots. It could be the elderly person that has to shop for themselves, or the parent with a wheelchair bound child…or maybe even the veteran who lost part of themselves fighting for your right to freedom.

Too many times disabled adults and children are thought of as less important and the handicapped tags are thought of as a free pass! These legal and well displayed signs are there for a reason….a very important reason.

My little boy is disabled and has to use a wheelchair.  I have a handicapped license plate and I only use the spots when he is with me.  But many times I see these spots abused by people  who should know better.  Usually I can ask the person to move and they apologize and release the space. Then there are the times I get yelled at, told that it is “too bad”, or that “they got there first”, even when they don’t have the necessary tags for parking there.  I  have also have noticed that the police don’t patrol  for handicapped parking…even when they have been notified that it is happening on daily basis. These constant abuses of these necessary parking spots only confirm that our handicapped population is thought of as less important!  This has to change!

People don’t seem to realize that the disabled population don’t just choose to be handicapped or have mobility issues…these are not issues you should ever hope to have. It really seems that people have forgotten the “Golden Rule”, treat others how you would want to be treated!”

As a mother of a mobility impaired child I notice things more and more…how  the handicapped population is treated..mostly because it now affects my life every second of every day!  My child knows he is different and he knows he has challenges but it doesn’t affect how he treats people so why should it affect how people treat him!?  It is a shame that sometimes it takes God changing your life to change your perception of the world around you!  On the news you see people endangering children or teasing these children at bus stops, amusement parks, and even at your neighborhood playground.  Adults reacting to these special children in arrogant and  narrow-minded ways, and doing it in front of their own children.  What does that say for our next generation?  Parents need to set an example for their children, teach their children to be respectful and kind!  And some parents need to think before they act…  because what if that was your little boy on crutches or your precious daughter in a wheelchair…how would you want them to be treated? How about your grandparent struggling to get out of a parking spot that is too small…  that could be you someday…  how would you want to be looked at or talked to?

Respect is a very easy but a very scarce thing in our society today.  I teach  my children everyday to respect and be kind to all people around them…and I pray that one day I will see a change in the way the world perceives the handicapped community. So the next time you see that empty spot with the little man in a wheeled chair please think…one day you or someone very close to you might need that space for a real reason!