Author: Jen Rios

All Kinds of my Worlds Colliding

I posted this video because I was popped up in my YouTube feed last night and I watched it twice and cried and then I watched it again the next day and I’m not ashamed to say that I cried again:

But I want to explain how my two worlds were colliding…

I was born in 1982 and I have an older brother, Ray, who is 9 1/2 years older than me and my brother, Steve, he’s 7 years older than me and he recently told me about my brother Ray and him falling asleep to the new U2 album when they slept in the basement of my house growing up.

Retrospectively, this is why I absolutely love u2!!! They were falling asleep to the album and so was I sleeping just above them. I have always felt something about Bono’s voice and when he told me that, it all made sense!

Being born in 1982, made me fit perfectly into the 90s grunge era! Therefore, Eddie Vedder’s voice is so Iconic for that era!

Middle school Jenny:

Undergrad Jen:

I have written so extensively about U2’s song, ‘One’, on my blog over the years because it is easily one of my top five!!! Seeing and hearing Eddie Vedder singing my jam was a bit much for me!!!

Vindicated

A few days ago, my Mom and I had a conversation and I couldn’t remember the word for what I was feeling. I thought it was validated but after some discussion, she let me know the feeling that I was feeling was that I was vindicated!

Of course, I immediately thought of this song but I hadn’t heard it in at least 20 years! I dated a guy whose roommate’s favorite band was dashboard confessional and I thought the music was so enormously profound! Man! This song makes me feel old but I still had to jam out to it!

4 Years Old OR Remote Program

I have a often said to anyone who will listen that when Sean was four years old, that was my absolute favorite age!!! I wholeheartedly stand by that assertion even to this day when my son is 21 years old. I liked it because at four, I could understand 100% of what he was saying and four-year-olds ask the most incredible questions! That was fun!

my power chair is four years old as well. I will say that this fact is NOT fun!!! I will call RIM in March to get an appointment for me to get fitted for a new chair. My new chair will come in July.

So, today, my four year old chair’s legs got stuck in the extended position. Naturally, I freaked out! NSM (My chair repair shop) it’s not a big company in terms of the office in Troy where I am seen. We called the number to get assistance.

Ken answered and he was able to help us remotely and he was in Louisiana and we are in Michigan. He saw what was going on with my chair and told my Mom to reset some mechanism on the leg rests. He told us that sometimes, the chair forgets the features that it has so we unplugged something and then plugged it back in and then it started to work!

My Mom asked Ken how we can give him good marks for his help with us and he told us to choose option seven when we call back. We did and we got Ray. Ray worked on my chair not too long ago and he explained the remote program to us.

He told us that the program started at the beginning of the pandemic and people needed their chairs serviced and they tried this out and it worked out wonderfully! My mom asked them about after hours. What would we do on a weekend? Both Ken and Ray told us that it’s a money game. They are just available from 9 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday. Wow! I have to think about this because disabled people matter too!?!

The Reason

I have been thinking about this for a while. Based on my last post, I will explain a little more. Granted, being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when you are 18 is QUITE traumatic but that is not even the reason that I watch movies over and over again!

I think I was NOT thinking about it because I didn’t WANT TO acknowledge the fact that my vision is going/dimming/fading just like that horrible doctor said 22 years ago! I did not want to handle it when I was 18 but now, when I am 40, I have no choice.

Having had MS for 22 years now, when I wake up, I put in one drop of eyedrops before I put my contacts in every day. Once my contacts are in, I put my glasses on which are $9 glasses from Amazon but I have a prism over my right eye to allow me to see single objects clearly.

I have another set of eyedrops that I put two drops in each eye when my eyes get dry (which is quite often!). When I watch the same movie multiple times, I do not have to strain my eyes to really focus on what I am looking at, I already know what’s going on in the movie. My eyes are relaxed each time I watch Hocus-Pocus in October and Love Actually in December!

I guess this was just to explain the method to my madness and this song fits as well (AND it’s in my head):

An Oldie But Goodie…

I’m not feeling well right now and I was thinking of a movie to watch. That’s what I do. I rewatch movies all the time! I’m not really sure why I do that, Sean tells me that it is a sign of trauma when you rewatch movies. I told him, what do I have to be traumatized by?! Being diagnosed with a chronic and progressively debilitating disease is when you’re 18 it’s NOT traumatic at all?!

My Mom decided to lay down and I turned the TV on and still couldn’t decide on a movie but then this was on the hallmark channel:

Love, Romance, and chocolate. I’ve seen this one many times And even though it’s a bit premature for Valentine’s Day, but it’s an oldie but goodie.

January 2023 Faves

I am nothing if I am not consistent! Today is New Year’s Day:

You’re welcome!!! I have recently been thinking about this CD and I bought it back when I was still able bodied enough to shower in the bathroom in my room. I eventually had to move to the main bathroom to use the handicapped railing. But these songs are in my head now and I’m thinking of winter time and our second apartment:

I remember that I was listening to the CD and the song title was scrolling along the dash and Sean saw Ed and his eight year old self asked, ”What are you? A dog?!” I think I smirked and told him that I liked this song!:


Bible in a Year

I made this decision possibly in October or November 20221. I knew that my 20th year of having MS was difficult! I also knew that I would not get through any more years without some help and I found it here:

I told Sean that I am going to get an, ‘A’ in listening to the Bible! I thought that I knew what the Bible was about having 12 years of Catholic education and being a Bible quiz champion, I thought it was going to be a piece of cake!

Man, was I ever wrong?! I like the fact that it was in my 40th year on this earth that I read the Bible and I have found that I have a peace about me and I will restart the journey tomorrow so feel free to join me because I will be praying for you as well!

#MyGirlL: Pink

I snapped this picture of Leia a couple weeks ago when she was fully on steroids:

She was just listless and she looked at me as if to say, ”Really?!”

She is gradually stepping down from the steroids now and taking one pill every other today until it’s gone but she’s already pink! I don’t know what we are going to do for her! But we have to do something!!!