Month: July 2019

I have always known that the olfactory sense, (your sense of smell) is very important for me. I have never witnessed someone putting such importance on their sense of smell until recently. I’m talking about my Mom’s olfactory sense.

I made this discovery as I watched her get my deodorant out of the medicine cabinet. Again, my house was built in 1951 when people in wheelchairs did not own homes. The medicine cabinet is a stark reminder of this fact because when I sit in my wheelchair, I cannot reach into it or look at myself in the mirror It’s too high.

I changed over to a natural deodorant in 2007. It was a long, drawn out process for me to choose a deodorant that I liked the smell of. After a number of missteps, I decided on this one:

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I used this deodorant for a very long time (until a few months ago) because I liked the smell. The look of it changed about a year ago:

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And then, to my dismay, it was discontinued.

I was at a loss because it had taken me so long to find that one that I didn’t know where to find a natural deodorant that actually works. I read a lot of reviews about Schmidt deodorant and it boasted being paraben and chemical free. I decided to give it a try. I read all of the different scents they had but I couldn’t decide on one. Since I changed over to all natural products, I have specifically tried hard NOT to smell like patchouli. I don’t like the smell of that. So, I decided to get the sample pack that Schmidt offered.

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I started out by using the green one because that’s the smell I liked the least. I currently am using the yellow one:

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Every day, when my Mom gets the deodorant out of my medicine cabinet, she will pull off the cap, closes her eyes, and she always smells it.

I asked her about that fact and she kind of got a faraway look in her eye and told me that it smells like my Abuela’s Stanley Home Products.

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My Abuela sold Stanley Home Products to the entire neighborhood since my Mon was a girl. My Mom could not pinpoint the exact product that it smells like but she says she wants to take my deodorant to her sisters because they will smell it too!

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For all of my young life until my wallet died, we always had Stanley Home Products merchandise! The things that stick out most to me after I searched for a picture was the broom, the brush, and the degreaser.

I absolutely love seeing my Mom getting lost in her memories caused by her olfactory sense. They are memories of her mom selling these products. She told me that she thinks it smells like when her and my aunts and uncles would check in the order when it arrived at their house.

I like watching her smile because it makes me think of my Abuela who now that I am a woman, I truly understand that she was/is the strongest woman I have ever known!!!

I got two eyebrows for the first time when I was in sixth grade. My Mom plucked them for me while we stood in the bathroom at my Parents’ house. I’m sure my brothers still remember me screaming and stomping my feet because it hurts pretty badly to get your eyebrows plucked! Especially, because I had so much hair to work with at the time!

After my Mom showed me how to do it, I plucked my eyebrows on my own until the spring before my junior year. My neighbor convinced me that I should start getting my eyebrows waxed. There was a really good place close to our house. I needed to allow my hair to grow in so that the woman would have a lot to work with when she reshaped my eyebrows.

So, for the entire summer before my junior year, I didn’t pluck my eyebrows and let them grow and naturally. I wore a bucket hat most times back then because it hid my eyebrows. If i saw someone I hadn’t seen for a while, I’d explain to them that I was growing my eyebrows out for the summer before I got them waxed for the first time.

I went to the same salon to get my eyebrows waxed from when I was 17 until I was 20. I took Sean to get his first haircut when the woman who currently waxes my eyebrows noticed that my eyebrows were uneven. I told her that I wasn’t really happy with the place I went to and she took over waxing my eyebrows from then on.

She has been waxing my eyebrows for the past 17 years. Because I have dark hair, I would ask more and then just my eyebrows, but my upper lip too. I had increased facial hair as a side effect of a medication I used to be on. So, she waxed my cheeks too! I distinctly remember telling my colleagues that I got my entire face waxed except for my nose and a tiny circle on my four head. I really wasn’t kidding because there was a time when that’s what I ended up getting waxed.

We were just talking about this the last time I got my eyebrows waxed. I got them waxed at the end of June because the woman who waxes my eyebrows and cuts my hair goes on vacation for the first two weeks in July. Now that I am on a fixed income, it works out that I usually get my eyebrows waxed just after I get paid, so once every month.

It’s pretty much time for me to get them waxed again but I haven’t made an appointment yet. When I was working, I made sure to stay up on my eyebrow waxing and it also made sure to notice when students got their eyebrows waxed.

This morning, as my Mom made her coffee and I drank my Kiefer, she told me that I look like Evita. I smiled as I sipped my Kiefer and I told her that is not who she meant to say. I told her that she means that I look like Frida Kahlo. That’s my Mom’s way of telling me that they need to get my eyebrows waxed.

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I began to laugh pretty loudly and I let my Mom know that it is really hot outside! I will melt if I go to get my eyebrows waxed! It doesn’t really bother me because my house was built in 1951 so since I am in a wheelchair, I don’t need to look at myself in the mirror if I don’t want to. I don’t think I look THAT bad though, as I searched for pictures of Frida Kahlo, I found one that I kind of liked:

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Or this one:

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So, I know I need to get my eyebrows waxed and I also know that I will NOT let anyone else touch my eyebrows except for the woman who has been doing it for the past 17 years! So I guess for anyone who may see me before I get my eyebrows the waxed, I get it! They are a little out-of-control right now!

Two days ago and yesterday as well, I saw a commercial for, “Target School List Assist.” I was completely aghast when I heard exactly what it was! When I was a child and a student, I absolutely loved “Back to School” sales! I loved buying school supplies! I remember the summer before my first year teaching, I let my Mom know that I will ALWAYS be a part of “Back to School” shopping and that made me happy!

I no longer a part of these sales, I haven’t bought school supplies for my classroom for two years now. Sean has gotten older and he doesn’t love, “Back to School” like I did. He is a boy! I remember having so much fun buying his school supplies for the upcoming school year. I shopped separately for my classroom then I did for buying his school supplies.

I have always loved shopping at Target! Sean was a Target kid with his “Mix and Match” clothes from when he was very small! One time, at “Back-to-School” shopping, he pointed out a folder to me that I had me laughing hysterically! I think the folder was blue or green but it had this picture on it:

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I could not stop at laughing at that picture and Sean started laughing too! I think he had to be about 9 or 10 years old but I really like that Beyoncé song! I can’t hear it without thinking of that folder we saw at Target.

I knew Sean was not going to choose that folder to buy but I told him anyway that he could not because he went to a Catholic school and nuns are NOT single, they are married to God!

I remember one year when we were shopping for school supplies, I had printed out his list and brought a yellow highlighter from my classroom with me. I would read an item and Sean would go get it and put it in the cart and then I would highlight the item on the list. As we were doing this, a dad who was shopping with his child, looked at me and commented that what I was doing was a really good idea!

I really appreciated sharing my expertise in “Back to School” shopping with someone new. With this, “Target School List Assist“ that is NOT going to be possible at all! It makes me so sad! I am very relieved that I am no longer involved in “Back to School” shopping and Sean is old enough that he really doesn’t care. This year is his final year of high school. I still can’t NOT laugh when I hear that Beyoncé song because I think of that folder EVERY SINGLE TIME!

Deposit made. ✔️

Hall venue secured. ✔️

I am extremely grateful to have secured the date for Sean‘s graduation party at the place I wanted it! I knew it had to be in a hall because my house is way too small and I also knew that the hall needed to be 100% handicapped accessible which, sadly, AVLOT of halls are NOT! Well, this one is!

There are so many things I need to think about but at least we have a place to have the party! I’ve already started working on the guest list which is quite large. I have a really big family!

I’ve also begun thinking about a caterer. For me, it’s a no brainer because I am 100% Mexican. But Sean, who is the party is for, is half Mexican and half Polish. I’m thinking I will have to have multiple caterers. So, there are a lot of things I need to think about and plan but at least I have a place!

I am in a Facebook group for moms of boys. Today, someone posted the question of our boy’s middle names. I commented “Ramon. It’s my dad‘s name.“ A few of my nephews have ‘Ramon’ in their name for my Dad. I remember when my Dad first found out Sean‘s full name. He told my Mom, “The legend continues. I will live forever!”

Well, I think my Dad WILL live forever in both Sean’s and my life, at least! Many of his idiosyncrasies are very much alive in our minds! Sean has been going out to his hair. It is no secret that I don’t really like it! He came out of the bathroom this morning after shaving and showering and told me that his hair is not THAT long.

He told me that he would pass Grandfather’s , “Three Finger Rule.” My brothers must have told Sean about that rule my Dad had for them when they were in school. All of them went to a Catholic school and they needed to have a proper haircut for it. My Dad used to grab the front of their hair and use three of his fingers to determine if their haircut was too long. If hair stuck out of the top of his three fingers, they would have to get another haircut at their own expense.

Sean came out of the bathroom and grabbed his hair with three of his fingers and his hair did not stick out of them. He told me it was OK. I then grabbed his hair with three of my fingers and hair stuck out over the top of them! I told him that his hair does NOT pass the three finger rule!

Sean just shook his head and let me know then that I have, “Baby Fingers.”

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I guess that I may have, “Baby Fingers”…

I remember reading in a magazine in high school that it takes twice as long as it lasted to get over a relationship once the relationship has ended. I only thought of that because I think it’s going to take me a little while longer than eight days to recover from the hotel stays that I was forced into.

Yesterday was my first full day home. I couldn’t do much of anything yesterday because I was so exhausted. Today, I kind of can see a little clearer. I’ve started back into my normal routines that I have fallen into since I stopped working. My time away from my house when there was no power did a number on me!

We were displaced for a total of four nights and four days. We went to a total of four hotels trying to find one adequate handicapped accessible room. Of the four hotels we went to, NONE of them were completely handicapped assessable. The last one, got a grade of what I am thinking is a C+. The three previous hotels however, they were an F-.

I didn’t realize they were so bad until we were already checked in. The only saving grace was having my, “2 Sacreds” with me! Sean had told me a while ago that wherever I wanted to be, even if it wasn’t handicapped accessible, he and my Mom would get me there. Well, he was 100% correct! They helped me out so much that I can’t even begin to figure out how to thank them!

Even with all of their help, I still have bruises on my backside because sitting in my manual chair for so long is no comparison to my motorized chair that had to remain in my house because I have no way of transporting it. I also have scrapes on both of my elbows because I tried to make do with a bathroom that was not fully accessible.

Despite my scrapes and bruises though, the hardest thing for me to accept is the knowledge of knowing how inaccessible hotel rooms are (Even when they claim to be) and it’s 2019. Sean asked as we got to our third hotel why we had to keep moving hotels every day and I told him simply, “Because I am disabled.” The power outage was a big deal when we got our first room so we ended up in Troy, then back to Dearborn, and then Novi. The third hotel claimed to be completely accessible but it was not at all! That was what led us to Novi.

So here I sit in my house, reclined in my motorized chair (to take the pressure off of the bruises) well both of my elbows burn as if I am a child with skinned knees. This really stinks! I’m going to give myself more than eight days to recover because I already know that a body with MS takes longer to heal and let’s not even talk about my knee because it hurts so badly!

We ended up spending a total of four nights and four days away from my house because we had no power. I was able to come back home very late last night. I learned so many things during this last power outage which I would like to post here but it did a number on my body and my mind.

So, for right now, I am trying to recover. Hopefully, I will be able to do so tomorrow given my bruises and my abrasions acquired because hotels are NOT accessible even though they say they are. I am reclining in my chair and fighting to stay awake. I’m not sure how long this recovery process will be but I will have to see…

The power in my house is not scheduled to go on until Thursday night as a 11:30 PM. What I have learned in this whole ordeal is that hotels are NOT designed to accommodate disabled people. It kind of really stinks to be affected by this design flaw. Sean told me today that the fourth hotel we have stayed in is the least inaccessible even when it says that it is completely accessible.

I miss sleeping in my own bed where things that are comfortable and completely accessible to and for me. It looks like I will have to sleep in this hotel bed again tonight. I wish I could just treat this as a vacation stay and I would be carefree like when I was a kid but this loss of power is A LOT more difficult when you are disabled!