Month: June 2020

My 4th and 5th COVID-19 Tears

Last night, once my Mom brought in the mail, I received a check in the mail and those prompted my fourth round of tears during the COVID-19 quarantine:

It was the refund check for my deposit on the hall I was to have Sean‘s graduation party. I was so excited to have this party given my history with my own unfortunate graduation parties and it was going to celebrate the fact that I put him through 12 years of catholic education. This one was going to be, “One to beat the band!” But, alas, as I’ve said before – me and graduation parties just don’t mix and Sean isn’t extension of me! It bummed me out to receive this check because I much rather would love to have a huge party to celebrate with my family and friends.

This morning, my Mom was speaking to her sister on the phone and she recounted all of my missed graduation celebrations and the reason for them not being celebrated. No question that both of my Dad‘s open heart surgeries took precedence over celebrating. And for my graduation after receiving my masters degree, he was already gone.

Many parents are changing their kid’s graduation party by limiting the invitation list but I can’t imagine NOT having some of the people I invited to the party there and a lot of my family members are compromised just like I am so I don’t want to spread anything or put them in harms way. As my Mom was telling my aunt these things, my fifth COVID-19 tears started. I don’t know when it will be possible to have Sean‘s graduation party but I hope it is soon.

Hallmark Movies

I watched a Hallmark movie last night. It was the first one I had seen for a really long time! I saw it with my Mom and she had never seen them before and I had seen it hundreds of times. It was called Wedding Bells:

I liked watching it with her because she hasn’t watched 1 million Hallmark movies like I have and she is not familiar with the plot structure of all Hallmark movies like I am. It was strange that the song that playing in the movie has been in my head since last night:

This movie is by far NOT my favorite Hallmark movie like A Country Wedding is but I appreciated the happy ending. My Mom didn’t want to wait until the end for the actual happy ending but I told her to wait, and then it came:

Sean has always asked me why I like these cheesy movies so much and I just laugh. Last night, I realized why I like them. It’s an escape! It has a very predictable ending and I really haven’t had a lasting love story in my life like they are in these movies. I like watching that! And now, that song is STILL in my head!!!

Bono or Martha Ford?

So, my sunglasses arrived in the mail today. So naturally, I had to try them on:

I used my phone to see what I looked like and I started to laugh! I don’t take selfie‘s but I thought this one warranted a posting. I had order them from Amazon because I used to buy them from Target for $12.99 until Kim Kardashian says that oversized sunglasses are no longer stylish so they stopped carrying the glasses I normally bought.

I just want to explain that I NEED these oversized sunglasses to block out the sun completely, “Stylish” or not! As my Optic Neuritis has progressed, the sunlight hurts my eyes very much! Even if it is raining out, the sunlight hurts my eyes. I laughed when I saw myself because I thought of two people. So the question remains, whom do I look more like?!:

Bono

OR

Martha Ford?

These are two people that mean a lot to me because I love u2 and I also love the Detroit Lions! 😍😍😍

Regardless of which one I look like, I will be ordering a duplicate pair of sunglasses when I get my next check because these are really comfortable and I don’t know how long they will be available on Amazon and I break sunglasses often.

Sensitive Skin

I haven’t written about Leia In a while but we learned of a situation late Saturday night. My Mom brushed her with the mitts I ordered for her and on Sunday, we noticed that she had bare patches of her coat that showed her skin. My Mom said that it looked like mange. When she said that, this song immediately popped into my head:

You know, because when he stops at the bar in Gatlinburg he sees, “The dirty, mangy dog that named me Sue!” I thought it was pretty gross if she had mange which because of our virtual appointment on Monday, she does NOT! The vet told us to begin the flea and tick regiment and to bathe her twice a week with an oatmeal-based shampoo.

Leia has her first appointment with the vet at the end of the month. The vet said that we should do that and she will determine what is going on at her appointment. She thinks that she may have sensitive skin. My Dad had sensitive skin and hearing that made me think of him. That and the Johnny Cash song!

My Mom bathed her on Monday evening and the vet said to wait 24 hours before we administer the flea and tick medicine. Last night, she was going to put the medicine on her back, between her shoulder blades. Neither one of us have ever done this before and being in the chair, I didn’t think I could be much help.

Leia was NOT all about staying still so my Mom laid her across my lap after I turned the chair off. Her front paws were on the outside of my right armrest and her back paws were on the outside of the left armrest by the control panel. My Mom stood just behind her to keep her steady and Leia was squirming a whole bunch.

it surprised me that I began speaking softly to her to calm her down and pet her head. She kind of started to calm down a little until I rested my right cheek on her head and continued reassuring her in a soft voice. She smelled good because of her bath the night before. She relaxed then as my Mom continued putting the medicine on her back.

Her coat looks shinier and she’s not scratching as much but she will get another bath tomorrow. I think with the administration of the medicine that we finally have bonded, more than I think we have because with me being in the chair, I haven’t really gotten able to get close to her like I did on Tuesday.

Ice Cream for Dinner

My Mom and I were brought ice cream today. She got a chocolate malt and for me, mint chocolate chip was not available – the TRAVESTY!!! So, I settled for chocolate. As I ate my dinner tonight, I thought of this song:

I remember seeing and hearing this song covered at my cousinT’s high school about 22 years ago.

Listen

All day yesterday, my right knee was KILLING me!!! I was at a loss. It was terrible! Just TERRIBLE!!! I am just not well today. I shared this video late Friday night because it showed up in my YouTube feed. It’s one of my faves!:

Reminds me of so much!!! I just have to listen to it and…

Ruby

My Dad used to sing this song to my Mom all of the time, especially when she went to get her hair done:

I even put this song on the final mixed CD that I made him for the last birthday he had with us. He was 55. My Dad used to sing the just refrain often. He would just say, “You painted up your lips and rolled your tinted hair.” I never knew until years after he had died and I have gifted him that CD that there is an extra word in that line! It made me smile because my mom also uses rollers to kill her hair.

I never knew until years after he died that the Vietnam veteran in this song who is paralyzed said that, “ If I could move, I’d get my gun, and put her in the ground.” ???!!!

When I heard that line, my eyes wideNed and I beseechingly asked my Mom, is he really going to kill her?! My Mom just laughed and told me that he was. I NEVER KNEW THAT!!! I told my Mom that it is a horrible song but we listened to it a few times last night as I was getting ready for bed and I still smiled when I heard the line my Dad used to sing and just ignored the fact that my Dad was singing a song about killing his wife!

My smile continued after this song ended as I thought of my Dad fondly and him singing. My mom played another song that reminds me of my dad but all I can do when it started to play was cry! She played this one:

My Dad really liked Johnny Cash and even though I’ve never had beer for breakfast, neither one nor two, I smiled at this song too until I heard the line, “ In the park I saw a daddy, with a laughing little girl that he was swinging.” Then, I began to cry. My Dad never swung me on swings but I AM his little girl! I really miss him!!!

Frida Kahlo

My Mom asked me if I wanted her to pluck my eyebrows today. That’s the second time she has asked me and I really don’t care about it. I told her that I will not cheat on the woman who has been waxing my eyebrows for the past 17 years and I have no problem with my unibrow. She asked me the same thing a few days which I also declined. She asked me this the day before my Facebook friend posted this gif:

Apparently, that’s what I look like but I’m not very phased about it. I told my Mom that I did not want to cheat on the woman who has been waxing my eyebrows for the last 17 years. I had another woman wax my eyebrows for about three years before that and I started plucking my eyebrows when I was 12 and started waxing when I was 17. So, I’ve been shaping my eyebrows in a long time.

My sister-in-law posted a picture of my nieces getting ready to play out in their yard and my older niece was wearing this shirt:

I texted my sister-in-law and told her that I loved her shirt and that there is nothing wrong with rockin’ a unibrow because that is what I’m doing right now! When my Mom asked me to pluck my eyebrows, apparently they look pretty bad so I searched the Internet as to why Frida Kahlo had a unibrow. on Wikipedia It’s sad that she kept it because that’s what her husband, Diego Rivera, preferred.

There were links at the bottom and I clicked on the one that talked about “The Unibrow.” This is what it said:

The unibrow occurs when both eyebrows grow together, seemingly without a break between them. … The unibrow is a true sign of individuality. Like those with thick eyebrows, you aren’t overly concerned with the way others perceive you. You are unique and one-of-a-kind.

After 26 years of taking care of my unibrow, now, the center of my eyebrows is not very pronounced but they have gotten pretty thick. Just about to my eyelids! But, I’m choosing to rock it because I can’t go anywhere and my salon is not open yet. I look like Frida Kahlo. Maybe I should get a shirt like my niece?