Nostalgia gets better the older you are. Unfortunately, nostalgia is not reality. As your memory dulls, you tend to forget about the realities that made times tough, like the crappy little rental apartments, the employers that were disrespectful, or worse, the fact that you couldn’t afford anything etc. It’s the reason that the Make America Great Again movement is so popular. But the country has improved over time. Think about all of the rights you currently enjoy. They didn’t exist in the past. If it weren’t for the boomer generation who fought for those rights, you wouldn’t have women’s rights, civil rights, or gay rights . Those rights can be taken from you with the stroke of a pen. Don’t ever forget that. So make sure you vote for people who respect your rights and want to add to them. Don’t vote for nostalgia .
Because I’m retired and disabled, my sleep knows no schedule. I’ve had 3 hour naps in the middle of the day. I’ve gone to sleep at 8 pm. I’ve even woke up at 430 am. And all within the last 2 weeks. Then there are the days when I get to sleep at 10 pm and wake up at 7 am. for several days in a row. There’s no rhyme or reason to my sleep, likely because I don’t really have to do anything. On days when I have an appointment, I force sleep early with a muscle relaxant or an indica gummy and set an alarm to wake me, and I’m usually fine. I’m very lucky that I don’t have to stress about it, so I don’t.
What strategies do you use to increase comfort in your daily life?
As a person who experiences chronic pain, this is a prompt to which I can speak with some authority . When I was in hospital, 9 years ago, the only thing that was available for my pain was Dilaudid, which is a very strong opioid , 5 mg of which is equivalent to 30 mgs of morphine. They wanted to send me home with a prescription for Dilaudid, but I said no. I wanted to find a non- opioid substitute because I didn’t want to be addicted to a potent drug that kept me stoned all day. I was a Marijuana enthusiast for most of my adult life, and I knew that Marijuana can be a real help with pain. Upon leaving the hospital, I immediately set out to find an edible for my pain,finally settling on a gummy of the indica variety,which gives a body high, with 25 mgs of THC 3 times per day. This is what has worked for me. Over the years, I’ve been able to control my pain without being stoned. It’s gotten to the point after 9 years, where I only eat a gummy when necessary, and it’s rarely necessary . I also immediately after leaving the hospital, set about finding a comfortable lift chair. The first chair I bought was a laZ boy that fell apart after 6 months of constant use. Then, I went to a store that specializes in disability aids that has lift chairs and found a great chair for less money than the laZ boy, and it lasted for over 6 years . When I finally needed a new chair, I hightailed back to the same store and got this one
Complete with heat and massage
Then there were the wheelchairs. I was lucky in that the Red Cross loaned me a power wheelchair until I found one that worked for me. Thankfully, it only took me about a week to find and, as it was a floor model, it came with a good discount. I wasn’t so lucky with the manual wheelchair that I still required in order to go anywhere in the car. 2500 CAD for a chair I only used for outings to my doctors appointments, the mall, or visiting mom. I hated being pushed around everywhere in that chair. Then the day finally came when a store in my small city started selling, for 2700 CAD, a power wheelchair that only weighs 60 lbs, has a long battery life, folds like a lawn chair,and fits in the trunk of the car. It’s also airline approved. This wheelchair gave me my independence back
Visiting my father-in -law who lives a 2 hour drive from us
With this wheelchair, I can get dropped off at the mall and shop unaccompanied, which is a HUGE DEAL! It has completely replaced my manual wheelchair. The only small complaint I have is that it can’t climb stairs, but it’s not a deal breaker by any means. But that technology is coming to the marketplace as well. It’ll probably take several years, and it’ll be a huge dent in my bank account, but it’s coming.
I must say that if you are becoming a wheelchair user,it’s a much more comfortable transition than ever before.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve gained some balance, literally. I no longer have to lean against a chair or the toilet in order to pull up my diaper. This morning, I finally showed my husband that I now have the ability to balance myself while putting on my diaper, and he was almost as excited as I am about this new ability. In the future, I’m excited to improve this ability. I’m also excited to improve the strength in my left leg, with an eye toward the end goal of being able to walk to the bathroom without an AFO brace and quad cane, which would completely change my life for the better! If I’m able to strengthen the leg enough and improve my balance enough, I might be able to ditch my indoor wheelchair,which would be an enormous difference to my world. These may seem like little things to you, but 9 years post stroke, they are gargantuan to me. And I can see them happening in the near-ish future. A couple more years of working on it should do the trick. It’s possible, and hopefully, it’s doable.
What could you let go of, for the sake of harmony?
Let’s see, I’ve already let go of my left arm, hand, and ankle. Also, I have let go of all of my teeth. Everything else I have, I need, harmony or not. Some of these prompts aren’t good for me to focus much of my time on. This one has made me feel sad.
I was born in the mid-1960s with all that this entails. My favorite musical genre is the classic rock of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Everything from Elvis Presley and Gene Vincent to the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin to Cher, Joan Jett, David Bowie, and Donna Summer. The music that encompasses the entirety of the second wave of feminism, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Gay Rights Movement. I was lucky enough to be here for the majority of it all. I include the 1950s because I heard those songs in my house growing up, and they still hold a soft spot in my heart . It was also the decade of the beginning of rock and roll and the rebellion it started. I am who I am because of this music and the politics of the time period. I should include the early to mid 80s, too, with acts like Queen, Prince, Madonna, and U2.
In 2005, I was living in Los Angeles, and the Rolling Stones were doing their Bigger Bang tour ,to which I had tickets. It was common knowledge that they would be staying at the Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills. I decided that I would spend 3 nights at the same hotel in hopes of catching a glimpse of the band, and I was not disappointed. The hotel itself is gorgeous, and the staff was top-notch. At the time, they offered a spa package that included 2 spa treatments with a 3 night stay, and I took advantage of the manicure/pedicure and the in room massage the 2 days prior to the concert. I had just had my 40th birthday and was intent on treating myself to some, much needed pampering. Room service for breakfast and lunch and dinner in the hotel’s restaurant, which had the best food! It was in the restaurant for lunch that I got to spend a half hour discretely watching Keith Richards while he ate. That evening, I took the book I was reading, James Ellroy’s American Tabloid, to the lounge and settled in, looking up any time someone walked in. It was there that Ronnie Wood walked through with his wife in tow. But it was on the day I checked out,the morning after the concert, at the Staples Center, that it finally happened. I actually caught a look at Mick Jagger in the elevator! Unfortunately, he had tight security, and I wasn’t going to get on the elevator with him, but the doors opened on my floor, and there he was! I checked out of the hotel, hopped into my little red Miata, and drove past the tour bus on my way out as the CD was blaring out the song, Sympathy for the Devil.
All in all, it was a very satisfying experience and worth every penny spent.
I know quite a bit about certain TV shows and can quote some of them, chapter and verse . I know a lot about Marilyn Monroe, but I have yet to see a couple of her earlier movies. I know classic rock from the 60s and 70s quite well. I know an almost scary amount about Mick Jagger and can answer expert level trivia questions about him.
BUT I’m not claiming authority on any one subject other than my own life. And I’ve forgotten more about my life than I care to admit.
Romance when you’re disabled means having someone who will change your diaper with a smile on his face .Someone who will clean your dentures. Someone who will cook for you, because you can’t cook for yourself. Someone who will keep the house clean because you can’t. And someone who doesn’t complain about doing those things because they love you.
Today marks the 157th birthday of the country in which I was born, Canada! We are a young country with an even younger flag. Canada’s flag is only 59 years old today.I will be 59 years old later this month. My husband will be 58 years old in a week. My mother will be 82 years old in just over 3 weeks. And finally, Mick Jagger will be 81 on July 26th, and on that day ,I will have my yearly sip of champagne to toast that fact.
Happy birthmonth to all of the Cancers out there, and remember, when someone asks you what your sign is, you say, “I’m a cancer, I grow on you “
Oh,I just remembered. Happy birthday to all of the early Leos too. I don’t have a pithy remark for you but I’m sure you don’t mind 😸
