Author: Jen Rios

A Pain Pill

I think I first noticed this occurrence about seven years ago. The season change is rough on me with all of the moisture in the air. It hurts! Add seven years of disease progression through this and A second knee surgery into the mix and it’s pretty much unbearable!

I’ve written about the, ‘March Meltdown” back during my days of going to Barwis. But it’s not even March yet and I am feeling the effects of the “Meltdown” now. This is a precursor to the upcoming “March Meltdown.”

I noticed my knee hurting a little bit yesterday during our routine but today it was even worse. So, adding up 20 years of MS discomfort and pain with the pain of a repaired meniscus that still hasn’t properly healed because having MS for so many years, is not allowing for that healing to take place.

I guess this is a precursor to the “Meltdown” but I can’t just suck this one up and I caved and took a pain pill. Mostly for my knee because 20 years of MS pain I am used to but it’s only been a little over four years for my knee.

Hashtag Simple Pleasures

I opened my eyes this morning as my Mom walked into the doorway of my room. She asked if I was awake and because I had just awakened, all I could do was raise my right hand and give her a “Thumbs up” because I could not get the words out of my mouth at that point. She pulled the covers off of me and rolled me over to my side to get me into an upright position after a number of steps in that process. I groaned when she did this and wondered if today was going to be as bad as yesterday was for me. Once I was in my wheelchair, she tilted it back to get me seated properly in it and continued to grunt. These are we’re not good signs and it made me concerned. As my legs got fully extended and I turned my wheelchair toward the bathroom to wash my hands, I smiled. I reminded my Mom that it’s Monday!

I had recently had this cheese and it was perfect for me because it was soft enough to just about melt in my mouth which is very helpful for me now. I recently learned that this cheese was available at Target. I ordered four of them and had Sean pick them up for me. I figured out that I can have half on Thursdays (my FAVORITE Day of the week) and I decided to space it out on have the other half of the cheese ball for lunch along with my protein shake on Mondays because who likes Mondays?! I have a number of reasons to NOT like Mondays and the biggest one is that my Dad died on a Monday. The least I could do is have that’s really good cheese mark that day for me!

I’ve written before about the fact that I really dig simple pleasures. This is a simple pleasure! I would title of this post #SimplePleasures but I had already titled a post that. I recently read a tweet that said when you write a hashtag, you should capitalize the beginning of each word to make it more inclusive for visually impaired people and then it would be read aloud properly. I always thought it was just me being OCD and picky but it’s inclusive! And, to say that I do not sing this song in my head every time I think of simple pleasures would be a lie!!:

A Note to Self

This morning was super rough and it is only marginally getting better.

I saw this post on Facebook and took it as a note to myself. Today is one of those days and I will be happy when it is over and hope that tomorrow is better. I listened to this song and allowed myself to cry just a little bit:

No one said it would be THIS difficult but that’s how it is! UGGGHHH!!!

Random Tune on my Facebook Feed #2

First of all, we all know that, “First is the worst and second is the best“ but I think the first tune that I posted on my blog from my Facebook friend was pretty good but it doesn’t stop this one! Everyone just needs to remember that on February 20, 2021 and 6:12 in the evening, I posted this song on Facebook and then I had to share it on my blog because the song, I ABSOLUTELY love!!!

Random Tune on my Facebook Feed #1

This song shown up on my Facebook end it was totally random but I loved it! I actually am posting a shorter version of the song because the, “I know” part (which I LOVE!!!) but it was a little bit it was a little bit much.

Big Brother has to know that this song is such a jam!:

The 1st Friday of Lent

After watching Ben-Hir yesterday, I felt very much into the Lenten season. So much so, I thought I would watch Jesus Christ Superstar. I started watching it this morning before my Mom washed my hair. Once this song came on though, my thoughts shifted and I was reminded of auditioning for a play in high school. I was in the A-B rooms just above the gym and I was going to sing for the Director. There was a piano in that large room with two doorways.

When I was in high school, I did not know all of the words but I knew most of them so I sang The ones that I knew and just kind of sang, “La, la, la” to the melody. As I listened to this song, I got lost in my memories of being in high school so I had to stop before my Mom washed my hair.

After my hair was washed and dried, I continued watching the movie. It was the passion of the Christ and I was reminded of taking Sean with me to Stations of the Cross at DC. He was in grade school and he went with me every Friday during lent even though he went during school. He knew that Stations meant something to me so he just went with it. I remember being on crutches for most of those but I think I did go a couple of years in my wheelchair.

As my strength and mobility worsened, I was not able to go and now that I have pretty much been excluded from my church (because of my health) I have not gone to Stations but I consciously thought of going there and taking young Sean with me every week.

Over the years, it has worked out that I have purchased both movies that I have watched since it is Lent. I think I will have to watch it again, maybe in Lou of going to Stations of the Cross. I don’t think I can hear Mary Magdalene’s first song without first thinking of high school but I think that God will understand.

Even MORE Epic

So, we watched the second half of ben-Hur. I cried so much more and even 50 years after this movie was made, it is even more epic!!! We saw the second half of it and I was startled when the music for the chariot race started!

I have seen this movie for my whole life and I remember the first time Sean saw it. He must’ve been 10 because we saw it in our house and I told him it was epic! Sean has not cared for many movies I think are a big deal but he liked this one. I think. But, I love it so much! I will watch it again during lent. Probably on holy Thursday because that’s my favorite day of the Lenten season. Now that I wear glasses again when I watch movies, I constantly have to take them off and wipe my face. It was totally worth it and I would suggest it to anyone! Especially during Lent!

41

Today is my brother’s 41st birthday. He is the middle person in my family’s, “Birthday Moth.” I sent him this video clip this morning:

This was fitting because he’s 41 and because today is Ash Wednesday, my Mom and I are going to watch, Ben-Hur. I can’t watch this movie repeatedly because it makes me cry but I do watch it every year. I probably will watch it on Easter as well. Sean usually watches it with me but since he isn’t here, I can watch it with my Mom. We ARE Mirium and Tirzah!!!

MyGirlL: The Things You Do for Love

Okay, I first need to preface this post by saying that I have WONDERFUL neighbors, and I am reminded of this every single winter I have lived here! My neighbor around the corner (we share a fence) will bring his snowblower around the corner and snow blow my walkway and if he does not do that, my next-door neighbor will come over and shovel the walkway for me! Sean will come over before or after work to shovel as well.

So, since my Mom does not need to shovel, she has done some thing for Leia now that it is so cold outside and she doesn’t take her for walks because it’s too cold and it can be icy if someone doesn’t shovel and salt and Leia’s paws is NOT good. So this is what my Mom did after she saw Leah’s attempt at playing in the yard. Her little body couldn’t Was too little to get through the snow. My Mom decided to make a track for her around the perimeter of my yard. Leia likes to do her business on the Fenceline. So she dug a trench in the entire perimeter of my yard. In the morning, she goes out and will pick up any of her business that she leaves there.

My Mom took a video to show me what the trench looks like and I think it’s adorable! The things you do for love! And my Mom loves her! We all do! I will post that video on Twitter as well as Facebook. There are actually two videos. The first video was too long so I was able to post the second one that shows Leia Liking it. My Mom says that sometimes Leia will run around in circles really fast for a while.

Recalibrate

Yesterday morning just after I took my vitamins, I had to pause a moment to take a breath because my body was KILLING me! I took a number of slow breaths and and pressed the heels of my palms to my eyes to keep me from tearing up. It took a little while for me to relax and my palms did get a little bit wet. With the snow coming yesterday, I had to re-calibrate and realize that with all the precipitation, I was just going to feel pretty badly. I did feel pretty badly yesterday, ALL. DAY. LONG!!!

This morning it was even more rough with all the accumulation of the snow! I didn’t cry though, and I think the recalibration I did yesterday helped a little bit for me to handle how I was going to feel and how I am going to feel until all the snow goes away. I had to listen to this song and even though it doesn’t apply, it means something to me because feeling like this with all the precipitation outside is hard. And, “No one said that it would be this hard” but it is: