My mouth was wired shut and I can’t get my words out and I just want to throw things at people when they don’t understand what I am saying. How on Earth did you get through this???

Hahahahaha! (Not a mean laugh, that just tickles my funny bone!) It was so hard adjusting, for about the 1st year! It’s a quick, painful lesson in extreme patience! I thought I was patient pre-stroke…but, it must be a different kind of patience!

However, I still have days like that, & on those days, Mark tells me that I’m like a toddler, throwing a temper tantrum–& he’s EXACTLY right! Kinda gives u a new perspective on toddlers…

My Jessie was one tough toddler, & threw temper tantrums like U wouldn’t believe…now I wonder if those were just times where she was too smart for her own good, & just did not have the words! Because it can be beyond frustrating!

The key is to look at things as they are: when u have an eternal perspective, this frustrating time is just a blink of the eye! & try to find the good in the bad—a little frustration is worth a fixed jaw. Let things go, so if people don’t understand u, it’s ok (I’m an OCD personality, so at times I struggle w/following my own advice here!)

“I am freakin old!”

I recently ran across this video that shares my religious beliefs, & I thought was neat, & wanted to share:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5xnJU0-N58

It occurred to me that things I’d normally blog about, I have written to my son on his mission instead, so I need to “catch u up.” For instance, I never mentioned a big milestone: that I got a PHONE! Yes, u read that correct: I got a PHONE! An iPhone to be exact…it’s pretty cool! My eyes still have double vision, but I assume the eye muscles have gotten stronger so my eyes line up better & I can read smaller font…Pretty cool! I never thought I’d be able to see or speak well enough to have a PHONE!

My phone is really more for texting, but I can do phone calls (preferably Facetime, so u can see my mouth, but I have done a few calls on speakerphone!). I can type on it, but it’s tough. So, it’s synced w/my iPad, where I can respond to texts.

The hardest part is hearing it ring, & NOT ignoring it, because ever since 2004, I have been ignoring phone calls! The 2^nd hardest part is finding it in my wheelchair bag! (My phone is not big & easy to find, like my iPad! & my wheelchair bag has gotten bigger, so I’m like an old lady frantically feeling around my bag/purse, for my phone!)

Anyway,this last week, it suddenly became tough to read my texts—whether it was on my iphone or my ipad…so I went to the eye doctor, & I am officially old: I need bifocals…My shirt today agrees: instead of reading, “I am freakin cold”, it reads, “I am freakin old!”

Merry Christmas!

Sophie is in this “extra” choir outside of school. They performed this weekend for the holiday season. The day we went (Saturday) was a day filled with small upsets & disappointments, but it culminated when we went to Sophia’s concert, & the ONLY place I could sit was at the very far back of the room (with empty rows in front of us). This is not the 1st time something like this occurred (handicap seating is often crappy), but it was just one more thing that day…

There is this new TV show called ‘Speechless’, & one of the actors is a teenage boy in a wheelchair, who is incapable of speech, & the mom is quite an advocate for her son, who will make it quite clear of how he should be treated…Needless to say, I was thrilled to hear that Mark went all “Speechless” on them, when they tried to be proud of completing the minimum accessibility requirements!

Despite that, I love Christmas. As a child, my favorite tradition was to prepare the manger for Christ: every good deed “earned” a piece of straw for the manger. That tradition never caught on w/my kids, so we did other stuff…

We have tried to keep the focus on Christ (our tree has only nativity ornaments, & most of our decorations are nativity related.–even our advent calendar is a nativity scene, & the while the actual nativity set we display is nice, it is not fragile, so it was ok if little hands touched it– though we also had a Fisher-Price nativity play set that was pulled out & added to their toys in December). Even Santa remembered Christ in our home, & just as Christ received 3 gifts from the wise men, Santa only gave our kids 3 gifts (though when u add in a gift from your parents, from each sibling, from both sets of grandparents, & from Mark’s 5 siblings, & my 6 siblings, there’s a LOT more than 3 gifts–Thank goodness our siblings began to rotate, & do 1 family gift, instead of 11 individual gifts!)

In addition, to make the holiday less commercial & more personal, we continued Mark’s favorite tradition of making gifts for each other. It doesn’t always happen for Mark & me, but we often help the kids make each other gifts. These are my favorite gifts.

However, this year, I don’t feel very “Christmasy”. My kids are all grown up, & it has seemed to loose it’s “magic” when everyone can pick out their own gifts! But this year on Christmas, we will be able to talk to my missionary son (serving in California, for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). After all those years of trying to put Christ into Christmas, that will certainly put the focus on Christ on Christmas Day! Who knew I had to wait until now to find Christ in Christmas!

Christmas Concert

If u will be in Austin the 1^st weekend in December, u should really go to this…Maybe I’m biased, but I think it’s soooo good! & this year, my Jessica is doing the biggest bell in the bell choir! And if u can’t pick between attending Friday or Saturday night, I suggest Saturday, because my other daughter, Sophia, is performing with her quartet (I may be biased, but I heard them practice, & they sound AMAZING!)

Tuesdays Rock!

The day of the week that I am grateful for is Tuesday: on Tuesday I get to do my favorite therapy–horse therapy, I get to hear from my son on his mission (it makes me so happy!), & I get to spend time with my husband (usually a lunch date, but it may include going places together). It is by far the best day of my week!

Speaking of horse therapy, when I started it, I got so tired from the workout, that it wiped me out the entire day! Unfortunately, I can’t sleep in the daytime, but once I had the strength to lift my iPad, I’d just sit & listen to an audio book. My horse therapy days quickly became my “audio books day”, cuz that was all I could do!

However, last year, I discovered the secret to regain my strength: don’t know if u’ve ever seen the cartoon of Popeye, the Sailor Man (I swear he’s in toonland at Universal, & he’s on you-tube). Anyway, I used to laugh at how when Popeye was tired, or getting beat up, he’d find a can of spinach, eat it, & his muscles popped out & he re-gained his strength—all from a little can of spinach! It seemed ridiculous! But I found out there may be truth to it, cuz my green supplement (that has spinach in it) really does make me stronger!

I believe that cartoon was created with a stroke victim in mind: spinach not only helps him, but he also can’t seem to use a side of his face, & talks pretty bad, like me! And if u want to hear what I mean, here I am, counting as I do knee bends on the tilt table:

https://youtu.be/VSICDo7oJmw