Getting out and about with Josiah is rather challenging. This boy loves to ride in vehicles of most any kind, but he does not enjoy walking. Getting anywhere with him involves getting out of those vehicles and walking.

IF we are able to coerce Josiah out of a vehicle, he plops on the ground. There is something about the texture of concrete that fascinates him. So, while we attempt to get Josiah to stand, he happily rubs his hands across the concrete. Lately, we haven’t been venturing out much with Josiah.

Not wanting to go home just yet,  I drove instead to the nearby outlet mall, calling ahead first to see if they had strollers.  At 11 years old and 72 pounds, Josiah is really too big for a stroller.  But, it was either that or go home.

When we saw the adorable firetruck strollers, I knew we were in trouble.  Josiah is tall with long legs.  There was no way he would fit in one of those tiny things. Unbeknownst to us, there was another option.

This is the part where the skies open up and a chorus of heavenly music plays.

They had wheelchairs. And they were FREE.  Chandler and I were thrilled.  Josiah, not so much. As with anything new, it is almost always met with resistance.  However, we knew that if we could convince that boy to sit in a chair and allow us to push him around, it might just change our lives. And so we convinced.

Once he realized he could sit and be pushed around, Josiah loved it.  Chandler loved it.  I loved it. Other shoppers were so helpful and kind, opening doors and smiling sweetly at every turn. Chandler and I were just thrilled to be able to spend some time with Josiah out in public with no drama.

And then, Josiah decided he did not want to go in any more stores.

He started reaching out to block us from pushing the chair in.  He held fast to the door jams and used his feet to push away from the entrance. We were undaunted. We whipped that chair around and backed ourselves in.

Josiah was fine once we were inside a store.  He just didn’t like going in or out. And then, before long, he was done with all the fun. He absolutely refused to go into another store. To make his point very clear Josiah jumped up out of the chair and threw himself down on the ground, blocking our entrance.

Chandler tried to scoop Josiah up by his armpits.  I grabbed his legs.  Without realizing it, we began gently dragging Josiah to the chair. With hindsight, it must have been a disturbing sight. No one looking on was aware Josiah is quite capable of walking.

At one point, when Josiah stood straight up, Chandler hollered out, ‘It’s a Miracle!’   Love that girls’ sense of humor.

I guess we could have forced the issue and insisted Josiah hold our hands and walk. Maybe it was selfish to put him in a wheel chair just so we could enjoy the afternoon, doing something we wanted to do. Maybe it was insensitive to shop when he clearly communicated by his actions he was not interested at all.

Maybe it was silly to walk out of church after just 10 minutes, then high tail it to an outlet mall. But, quite honestly, we had a blast.  I think it was an ingenious plan and I’d do it again tomorrow.

We’re hoping to get Josiah a bike trailer that doubles as a stroller to make getting out and about easier for all of us. I don’t know though. Until that happens, I’m thinking this is the only way to travel.