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42 years + 9 days

 Today I am officially 42 years and 9 days old!! I have to smile a bit at this statement, thinking of how little kids are very precise about their age. It is always 6 and a half or 8 and three quarters or even 10 and 350 days. Kids celebrate every day and year added to their age, but as we mature, that precise tallying of age slowly dissolves into generalizations. The years are marked with 20s, 30s, 40s, over the hill and then on the downhill side or too old to care. As we grow older, birthdays are still remembered, but at times, the celebration of it gets lost or forgotten in the busyness of work and family. However, ever since I was young, my family always made birthdays a priority for celebration. This priority mainly came from my Dad because he LOVED birthdays; it didn't matter which family member was celebrating-- my Dad made sure that the day was special and celebrated. Therefore, I grew up with some form of birthday party every year.  When I was young, every year was tr...
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On my Level

I have absolutely no plan for this entry, but my sister challenged me to write about "level". She said, "You have written about life and love, so now it's time to write about level." When I usually begin forming an entry, I have a general outline to guide my writing, but I will admit that I am not really getting a direction for this entry.  However, I always enjoy a challenge, and perhaps I will be surprised to see where the writing takes me.  Physically speaking, I have always been on a different level from others. When I was younger, my wheelchair was at the right level for my peers. But as my peers began growing, I was stuck at butt and crotch level. My gaze had to constantly shift up in order to make eye contact with my peers. However, as I grew, my wheelchair also transitioned to adapt to my body. Due to severe scoliosis and compromised respiratory function, my wheelchair took on a reclining position to provide comfort. Therefore, my view shifted from strai...
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The Rest of the Story

When I was young, I spent eons of time at my Dad's meat locker plant. He was the owner, and mom was the book keeper/meat wrapper/hamburger stuffer/patty maker. And I was supervisor over all operations. However, I did spend a lot of time in the office trying to entertain myself until quitting time.  I remember mom always had a radio playing, and each day I would listen to Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story. I thought it fitting to title my entry after Paul Harvey's keynote phrase. It was February 2018, and Chris was on his way for our first meeting and visit. He was scheduled to arrive late Friday night, but due to car trouble on the way he didn't get in until early Sunday morning. I will admit while he was coming up I had my doubts of whether or not he would actually show up. However, he persevered and arrived at the hotel just outside of town. I had lined up a friend who was willing to take me out to the hotel and meet him with me. We stationed my friend's husband...
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Just the Beginning...

Saturday, August 6, 2022 marked 3 months of being married. I realize for some that 3 months is merely a blip on the marriage spectrum, but I believe each month should be commemorated. I truly never believed that God had marriage in His plan for my life; of course, I always had a little hope and wishful thinking, but my disability always had a way of grounding me in reality. I have always had a firm hold on reality, maybe at times too firm of grasp. In essence, reality was my zone of protection; if I kept my my mind and thoughts in reality, I didn't allow myself to hope and dream of things that were not humanly possible for me to achieve. For example, if I allowed myself to dream of becoming a pilot, I would be crushed because reality tells me that I have no use of my limbs.  Yes, I realize that there are probably opportunities that I have missed because I have not dreamed bigger, but yet I have spared myself from a lot of disappointment and heartache too.  In late August of 20...
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Awareness

August is Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) awareness month.  It seems like every month has been designated for some special disease, cancer or rights these days, and if you are a member of Facebook, you can find a reason to celebrate every day-- Worldwide Ice Cream Day, No Underwear Day, National Eat Pizza Day and Sit On The Toilet Backwards Day (okay, the last one may be a bit of a stretch). I have had some inner conflict about whether or not to write this entry because I don't like calling attention to my disability; my disability calls enough attention to itself on its own.  However, I realize that there are many misconceptions and false facts out there about my disability, so maybe some accurate awareness and education can only be helpful.  I am not going to unpack all the scientific jargon that causes SMA, but SMA is a genetic disease. The disease only manifests itself when both parents are carriers of the gene (at least for my particular type of SMA). SMA falls under t...
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Mori the Maniac

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   Mori joined our family on June 15, 2022; he weighed in at 2.2 pounds at 8 weeks old. He is just over 14 weeks now and weighs about 4 pounds. I have NEVER  owned an actual puppy this young; my last Yorkie was just a few weeks shy of 1 years old when I got him, so he was out of the puppy stage. Buddy was very playful and full of energy, but he was fully trained, didn't chew and was fairly self sufficient in terms of eating and drinking. Mori came as a baby; he loves to chew; he actively searches out his trouble, and he will eat if the taste is suitable to his pallet. As a result, the floor is usually strewn with garbage because for some reason Mori believes garbage cans are just waiting for him to explore the contents. Also, his pen usually has dry dog food all over because apparently Mori feels that dry dog food doesn't belong in his dish. He wants wet dog food sprinkled with bits of human food. If we just give him wet dog food, he turns up his nose and walks away from ...
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Prayer

My husband, Chris, and I are currently attending a book study at our church.  We are studying The Power of a Praying Church ; the book looks at the importance of prayer and the impact of prayer on one's life.  Prayer has always been a major component in my life, and I have been lifted up in prayer by others countless times. I can safely say that prayer is one of the reasons why I am alive and well today. But this book has made me reflect on how my prayers have changed throughout my life.  When I was young, I remember praying for the ability to walk. It was not that I was unhappy with my life, but I think I wanted to run and play like my friends. Of course, I had my first set of electric wheels at 6, and these wheels gave me mobility and freedom. But it was still not the same as two working legs; I could not jump rope with wheels; I could not climb stairs with wheels; I could not play hopscotch with wheels.  However, my school friends adored my wheels and loved gettin...
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