Month: April 2019

My Mom picked up the next book I am going to read for me from the bookstore yesterday. While she was there, a couple books caught her eye and one of them was titled, Body Language, my Mom told me that she has always been interested in learning what someone’s body language means and as I flipped through the pages, I began singing Ursula’s song, “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from The Little Mermaid repeatedly! I had to look up this song to show my Mom the video because she didn’t know what I was talking about as I sang the line with, “Body language” in it over and over!

That’s the type of song that has to be belted out at the top of your lungs as your phone volume is turned all the way up and my Nom just smiled and kind of laughed a little bit at me singing this song with such gusto!

I was really surprised that I still knew most of the words 30 years later! My friends and I mostly sang Ariel’s songs when we were in 2nd grade but we watched the movie so much that I guess, subconsciously, I learned all the words to Ursula’s song as well! This song was in my head all day yesterday, especially the, “Body language“ line and since I didn’t leave my house yesterday, no one was here to be bothered by my singing!

Not only did my Mom pick up my book for me yesterday, she got some books for herself, AND she bought both of us a bookmark!

I have just been using the paper bookmark they give you at the bookstore when you buy books that advertises some book club meeting from back in the beginning of February. At least I graduated from the return envelopes from credit card offers. It’s not like the purple monster bookmark with blue eyes that my student made for me so many years ago that I am somehow hoping it’s stuck in a book somewhere in my house and I will find it one day; but, I will HAVE to use this one! My Mom and I will be MATCHERS!!!

Last night, I was very tired before the beginning of my Mom’s and my evening routine. My Mom was also tired. It’s a very rare thing when BOTH of us are tired but that’s how it was last night but the routine needed to be completed. When my Mom transfers me, I lean in and wrap my arms around her neck as she wraps her arms around me.

This time, last night, just after I wrapped my arms around my Mom and my Mom wrapped her arms around me we didn’t say anything to each other but both of us let out a very loud and manly grunt as she transferred me. Me because I was tired and her because she was tired as well!

We both matched the length and volume of our grunts and once I was transferred and she let go, we both started laughing HYSTERICALLY for what seemed like a long time and then she leaned into me and let me know that we were, “The epitome of femininity!“ just after she said this to me, I smiled.

At the exact time that I smiled, Sean mimicked both of us from his room and then we started laughing even MORE hysterically!!! Right after we heard Sean’s imitation of us, my mom reiterated what she said earlier, “DEFINITELY the epitome of femininity!”

Despite both of us being tired, we still completed our nightly routine and soon enough, I was tucked-in safely into bed. MS is neither fun nor funny and what I have to deal with is the same. The laughter we shared last night, helped just a little bit!

I am a little bit frustrated at the fact that I cannot read as quickly as I used to! I was hoping to finish the book I’m reading today but my eyes let me know that I needed to stop ringing. I am very much enjoying, The Gratitude Diaries!

In my reading today, Kaplan talked about Dr. Jacano. He is a renowned plastic surgeon and he goes to Laos to give children free cleft lip surgery annually. The moment I read that, I thought fondly of the student I had so many years ago! He’s got to be 24 now and I don’t know if he’s had surgery about it or not but I really hope he has! It was actually Sean who reminded me of this story.

It had to be during my first two years teaching English when I posed a question to my students. It was for, “Writing Wednesday” and I asked them what they would do if they we’re given $100,000. For extra credit, the students could volunteer to read their writing to the class and to give the class opportunity to hear it. I really liked it! It went with all aspects of the GLCE’s that we were supposed to be teaching at the time. (Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening – if I remember correctly)

Then, I had a student volunteer to read his writing that really affected me! I can’t remember his name but I can see his face and his glasses. He had a cleft lip. He went right into how he would spend his $100,000. He talked about paying bills for his parents, buying them a house, I think he said he would buy them a car, and then he ended his essay with a sentence that made me gasp and bite my lower lip and will myself NOT to cry!

He ended his essay with, “If there’s any money left over, I will get my lip fixed.” I remember telling my mom about that essay when I got home and Sean must’ve overheard it when he was in his room. He reminded me of that story I told him not too long ago and again it made me cry just like writing this post made me cry also!

I have to start this blog post by saying that I am NOT a back scratch-er! I would say for at least the last decade, when Sean’s back itches, he has to get someone else to scratch it. Sometimes he would wake up and come to me and tell me that his back itches and ask me to scratch it. Because my hand-eye coordination has been not good for so long, I will tell him, “I scratch, you move.”

He has always told me that I am a terrible back scratch-er! That’s partly why I got him a set of back scratchers for Christmas a few years ago. He will tell me that I have really good nails but my technique is terrible and that is because I really can’t control my hands all the time.

Last evening, Sean was sleeping when my Mom got here and she needed her back scratched. I was the only one awake in the house! She also knows that I am a terrible back scratcher! Her back itched and she had to make do with me! She told me to, “Scratch as hard as you can with those little hands!“

I began to laugh because, yes, I DO have a little hands and I think that because feeling is difficult to have in my hands I don’t scratch backs very forcefully. I scratched her back the best I could but I don’t think it was very good! I’ve thought about my, “little hands” all day long!

I joined Facebook just after I was done working and currently, I am rarely on. (except last month because it was MS Awareness Month and I HAD to spread awareness with my friends!). Well, my brother posted a picture of his hands today. I was immediately reminded of my Dad‘s hands!

My nephew and my cousin shared pictures of their hands on that thread as well. When Sean got home today, I asked him to take a picture of my hands. There’s not really a reference point so you can’t tell how big or little they are but I think they are kind of small because I still fit in plastic rings meant for children.

I think I might have been a sophomore in high school when my friend, Mary, told me that I had, “Snuffleupagus eyelashes.” We had played softball together and we were both cast in the chorus in the spring musical. We were getting ready in the girls locker room and that is when she told me. All of us were doing our makeup before the play and she noticed and told me that I had “Snuffleupagus eyelashes.” I remember laughing when she told me this!

She was and is COMPLETELY correct! I DO have, “Snuffy Eyelashes” because they do NOT curl (I can think of my Dad for this fact!), they look really long. I had a friend curl my eyelashes once and laughed because she had to curl them twice for each eyelash because they were so long. I dismissed that fact because the only reason they are long is because they do NOT curl.

My Mom reminded me of this fact this morning. I have been wearing contact lenses for 25 years and it has never been a problem to just pop both of them them into my eyes without a mirror. I think it’s a combination of my reduced hand-eye coordination, my inability to multitask, (Thanks MS!) and my, “Snuffleupagus eyelashes.” Because of all of these facts, I have recently lost a number of contacts! I now have a difficult time getting them into my eyes! The contacts are also very cold in my eyes in the morning so it is very difficult to get them into my eyes!

To combat all of these things in addition to my, “Snuffleupagus eyelashes,” my Mom has to watch me put my contacts into my eyes because they fall out of my eyes often. If she is not here with me, I will lose them on my shirt, on my pelvis stabilizer, or the floor. Today was more difficult for me to put my contacts in this morning than normal and my Mom mentioned my, “Snuffleupagus eyelashes.” I laughed and remembered Mary being the first person to tell me that!

I remember one morning in my second apartment, I was rubbing sunscreen on my son’s face when I noticed a couple things. The first thing was that he has the same lips as me. I asked him if I could put lip liner on his lips because I knew how! He declined. I also asked him if I could put mascara on him because his eyelashes are NOT, “Snuffleupagus eyelashes.”. They curl and additionally, they are taupe not black like mine. He also declined from allowing way to do this as well! Since it was in our second apartment I think he may have been around five years old.

It has been years since I thought of Mary telling me that I had,“Snuffleupagus eyelashes,” but after my Mom reminded me of it, I haven’t stopped thinking about it! Sean does not have,“Snuffleupagus eyelashes,” which is good because he does NOT wear mascara! But, I don’t either now. It’s still a whole hand-eye coordination thing, thanks MS! And by, “Thanks,” I mean, “NO THANKS!”