A Royal Reflection

 

Dear Diary,🫅👑👑

Watching The Crown today has pulled me back into a very specific memory. 1981.

While the world was focused on the wedding of the century, it was also the International Year of Disabled Persons. I was just a young girl then, but that was the year I actually met the Queen. I wore a flowery dress with my hair in bunches held with red ribbon and sandals.

It’s strange to think about now—me, a little girl with CP, standing before the woman I'm now watching on my screen. I’ve always felt a strange connection to the Palace; after all, I share a birthday with the man who is now our King.

In 1981, the theme was "Full Participation and Equality." I remember the excitement of meeting Her Majesty, but I also remember the reality of the 80s—the heavy boots, the lack of ramps, and the feeling that the world wasn't quite built for me yet.

Forty-five years have passed since that meeting. I’m still the same girl, just older, managing the "Double Whammy" of CP and Stage 4 Endometriosis. We’ve traded 80s fashion for digital blogs and mochas in the recliner, but the mission is the same: just trying to participate fully in a world that still has a few steps to climb.

love 💗