Author: Jen Rios

Exhibit C

I spent the morning setting up a background for this particular blog post! I reposted three different posts that explain my reasoning and they also explain my Mom’s clothes washing habit. I will show you all exhibit A and B and will leave you to come to your own conclusion with exhibit C which I discovered a few days ago:

Exhibit A:

This incident took place days before she moved in once she started sheltering in place with me for the pandemic. This is my FAVORITE shirt! Despite being ruined by bleach, I still wore it until it became too large for me. And this will lend itself to exhibit B.

Exhibit B:

This is my Michigan sweatshirt! This one hurt because it added to the hurt of my favorite t-shirt being ruined. Now, my favorite sweatshirt is also ruined!

I discovered Exhibit C a few days ago and I wanted to make sure it was what I thought it was! I was actually wearing the article of clothing but I lifted my right arm up to my face and licked the spot in question and unfortunately, it was EXACTLY what I suspected!!!

Exhibit C:

It was bleach. This is my third article of clothing since my Mom has been living with me that is ruined! I showed my Mom my arm and asked her what it was. She did not know but when I stuck my tongue out and licked my arm I looked at her sharply when I realized that it was bleach, she started to laugh! I explained to her that this is the exact reason why I have not used bleach for my entire adult life!

The only saving grace is that the sweatshirt is on its way out because it is getting too big for me to wear. Both of the bleached sweatshirts are getting too big for me to wear but I still wear them just in case my Mom ruins them further!!!

#MyGirlL: Restless

One thing I have noticed since Leia had her phase 2 treatment, she sleeps all day! Apparently, this two days of shots she had is kicking her butt! But, in addition to sleeping all day, she is restless at night! My Mom told me that in the middle of the night last night, that she heard her rustling a little bit and woke up to find her sitting on her bed just staring into space My Mom got out of bed and rubbed her until she fell asleep. She pulled her legs out from under her body so she could lay flat and pet her until she fell asleep.

Now, she used to do the same thing for my Dad when he came home from dialysis and could not get comfortable laying in their bed. She knew that he needed to sleep and he would feel better so she would rub him until he did that. And since she has been here since Covid, she is of the same thing for me too! I know the power of her rubbing when your body is insanely uncomfortable!

Next week, my Mom will lower her dose of steroids and they will do a blood draw next month to see if she still has worms. If she does not, she can skip phase 3. My Mom says that she is pooping a lot and the vet said that that may be evidence that she is getting the worms out. I hope so because I would rather her go back to running around like a crazy head in the backyard but she can’t do that right now.

A Beacon

I only wash my hair every other day now. Really, my Mom washes my hair. That is a, “Best Case” scenario, if I don’t feel well, it is #DirtyHairDontCare!!! Which has been happening a lot more lately. I say this because today may be a night when my white hair is, “A beacon” as my Mom called it a couple days ago when she took this picture:

I’ve never really been concerned about my looks and I just comb my hair with one of those $.$.99 combs. It’s my Dad‘s comb. He used to get them at the hospital. Luckily, my Mom has brought me a few of them that she is found in closets in her house since he has been gone. I comb my hair in the morning and let it fall how it does. I am interested to see if I will get a beacon tonight but I think that’s pretty possible, I just hope the white hair doesn’t get any friends! At least not anytime soon!!!

3:33

Yesterday, as my Mom washed my hair, she asked Siri what time it was and as soon as the phone beeped and she answered, I thought of this song and I can’t get it out of my head. Siri is that it was 3:33.

I think I may be the only person who would think of this obscure song when Siri tells me the time but I don’t mind and I did!

Looks Can Be Deceiving

So this is how my feet look right now at 7:08 PM:

This picture just shows me that looks can be deceiving because my feet are killing me! They have been her name from the moment my Mom uncovered me to get me out of bed. I had her take a picture of how my feet looked this morning after she put my shoes on:

I have been fighting with my feet from the moment I woke up! They hurt! My feet are beginning to pronate.


It hurts so I text Dan, “Phil” A few days ago and yes, he is saved in my phone as, “Phil” Even though his name is Adam:

It was a long text so:

And this is what he told me:

Since this morning, my Mom has been doing that multiple times while I sat there and allowed the tears tears to stream down my face. So, even though my feet may look normal no, they are fighting to turn in word end it is most painful!

#MyGirlL: Phase 2

Leia had her phase 2 treatment for heartworm this morning. My Mom took her while I still slept. It was strange waking up without her in the house. We were better prepared this time though, my mom had her pain medication ready and she took it shortly after she got home. But she was really slow:


A little bit after she took the pain pill, she ate. She is a little bit slower than she normally does because she’s not feeling well. My Mom picked her up at five this evening so Mom can tend to her throughout the night. She will take Leia back to the vet tomorrow while I am still sleeping again for one more shot. They will tell her whether or not she needs a phase 3 treatment too.

Christmas in July

I usually do NOT watch Christmas movies in July because it is July! But, yesterday, I watched the second half of a Christmas movie I saw last year on the Hallmark channel and I saw a commercial for a Christmas in July ornament sale! They have Christmas ornaments for 2021! So, I watch the first half of another Christmas movie I saw last year but I really wasn’t watching it but rather shopping for ornaments! I just put every ornament I liked in my cart but then I viewed my cart:

I saw the total and I started to laugh! Am I seriously going to spend $241.87 in one season?! The answer is no, of course! But, I will keep the ornaments in my cart to look at again in November and will probably streamline my list of ornaments I want to buy. Amy list end up only buying two or three but it sure was fun to shop for them last night! I really could use 2420 points So maybe I should just purchase them all?! Actually, the sale is over today and I do not have $241.87 but I will have to see what still is available when I am ready to purchase!

A Great-Aunt?!

Well, my nephew had his first child today. A little girl! Her name is Riley. But this makes me a great-aunt?! I think that’s crazy because I have had two great-aunts in my life. But… they were old, they were my Dad‘s aunts!

but, I remember when my nephew was born! I was 13 years old. So I guess, it makes sense that my nephew who is going to be 25 in six days has a child. I am her dad‘s aunt and I can’t wait to meet her! 💜💜💜

My Siblings

I’m really feeling it as the rain continues! It’s hard to find a comfortable spot sitting in my wheelchair! I am constantly adjusting it until my body will stop hurting for just a moment before it starts hurting again and readjustments are necessary! I am comforted by saying hey random picture from my photo album show up on my phone. I see it and it makes me smile. I smile because it’s proof that I had an able-bodied life not in pain!