Category: A Bit Of Randomness

This category is full of randomness that really doesn’t fit nicely into any of the categories having to do with my road to walking.

A Cougar

This morning, I awakened to check the time because my compression sock was twisted and it hurt my leg. I grabbed my phone to check the time and once I looked at it, the light from the phone sent a huge pain like a lightning bolt straight to the middle of my brain through my right eye. My right eye is my, “Poop Eye.” I have had Optic Neuritis in it since I was pregnant with Sean, so for about 18 years. It was still kind of early and I heard Sean rustling around getting ready for school.

I felt like the white walker giant and Lyanna Mormont had just shoved that blade into my eye socket. It was killing me! MS sucks!!! I just shut my right eye which is habit for me now because my eye was killing me! I was absentmindedly scrolling through Facebook as I was trying to wake up. I came across someone’s forehead that looked familiar and when I continued scrolling down, I saw it was a post from my aunt wishing my Dad a Happy Birthday. I gasped and tears immediately began screaming out of both of my eyes!

I miss him so much! Just as my tears started screaming, my Mom came in. She asked me what was wrong and I told her that I missed Daddy. Today is his birthday. The last birthday we celebrated with him was his 55th. I made him a mixed CD. (This was 13 years ago and before streaming.). I titled it, “The Daddy Mix” and a friend of mine helped me collaborate it.

When we were making it, he told me that this was the worst mix he has ever made but I didn’t care because it was really sentimental to me! It was all the songs that reminded me of my Dad. My Dad listened to it often before his death.

My Mom had to run an errand quickly before we began our morning routine today so she left. I wheeled myself to the hallway between Sean‘s room and the bathroom because there is no light there and my eye was still killing me! I tilted my wheelchair back, put my Dad’s playlist on my phone, leaned back, and closed my eyes. My Dad’s playlist has all of the songs I included on the CD I made him plus 2 more songs that I added after his death.

As the songs played, I could feel hot tears running out of the corners of my eyes and into my ears. When my Mom got back, before we began our routine, she said, “Happy Birthday, Husband!” I told her that I couldn’t believe my Dad was 68! I told her that I couldn’t imagine him old with more white hair and sallow cheeks.

She told me matter-of-factly that he is not 68 and that he stopped stopped aging at 55. That statement was almost sad for me until she added, “I’m a cougar.” Of course, that statement made me laugh and it lightened my mood a little bit.

I miss you so much Daddy! I can’t believe that it hurts so much 13 years later! Something tells me that you won’t mind being with a cougar who is 12 years your senior though as long as it’s my Mom!

Regulate

Sean was eight years old at my cousin, Jessica’s Quineañera. He presented her high heels to her and my uncle Ted before their dance. The Quineañera was it in Grand Rapids. My brother, Jimmy, drove Sean and me out there from Dearborn. I think my nephews drove in my car as well.

Jimmy and I were jamming to 90s on nine on the radio. That’s our music! This song came on:

As we were driving, there was a bridge toward the end of this song after Nate talked about the next step being the Eastside Motel. Sean chimed in from the backseat by letting us know that he didn’t think the Eastside Motel was a very high quality.

My brother and I laughed hysterically! ! I think I told him that was a good deduction or something like that. Sean hates that story but I can’t forget it!

I thought of that story and this song yesterday. I was cold in my house so I told Sean to turn the air conditioning off for a little while. It wasn’t until I was uncomfortable that I realized I was too warm.

The uncomfortableness I felt yesterday was that my legs felt terrible, like they were on fire, because my compression socks made them feel extremely warm. When I overheat, I lose all function and control in my limbs and I become extremely fatigued and lethargic.

That was me yesterday before I told Sean to turn the air conditioning back on. My Mom came over to help me to bed and I was spent! I was extremely uncomfortable as I was going to bed. I missed my old life and my ability to regulate my own body temperature. I was miserable last night and there was nothing I could do about it except wait it out. It really made me miss my old life, before MS!

Distance and Circumstance

My Tía Olga was laid to rest yesterday. I placed the order online for flowers from my family for my Mom on Sunday. She got concerned that the arrangement was not going to be as beautiful as it was on the website. I called the florist to let them know that we were from Michigan and the flowers represented my family so they were important to my Mom Tuesday.

To further put my Mom at ease, I called the funeral home yesterday afternoon before the showing. I asked the woman if they received the spray from my family and she told me that my Tía received many flowers. She was unable to go in the back and view the specific flower arrangement but she told me that I could come in to look at it.

I let her know that I was in Michigan so that would not be possible. She asked which florist day I used and I told her we used the florist recommended by their service representative. I called on Monday so the funeral home was closed. She told me that they always recommend the florist and she was confident that the flowers would be beautiful. That put my Mom at ease a bit.

My Mom did not call any of my Texas relatives yesterday because she knew what a difficult day they all were experiencing. She texted my Tía Alma and my cousin Reyna, my Tía Olga’s daughter and told both of them that she was praying for them and she understood that they wouldn’t be able to text her back and ask if they would text her back whenever they could.

Shortly after she sent the text this morning, she received responses! My Tía Alma sent my Mom pictures of the flowers and of the extended Texas family who gathered in tribute to my Tía Olga. The flowers were as beautiful as they were on the website and I hadn’t seen some of the Texas family members in 24 years. All of my family is Brown! They are all my Mom’s family too because she married into the family so long ago and they all love her too!

My Mom was so touched at receiving these text messages and pictures because she knows firsthand how difficult this time is for them. She had a smile on her face as tears welled in her eyes. I told her that she did a good job and that Daddy would be proud!

Distance and circumstances did not allow us to be there. When I was young and we used to drive there, my Dad told me it was a 24 hour drive away to my Tía Olga and Tío Rey’s house. My current circumstance prohibits me from taking that drive or even that flight now. When my cousins Linda and Reyna we’re up here in Michigan for my grandpa‘s funeral, they told my Mom that they COMPLETELY understand if we are not able to come down for either of their parents” funerals. The comfort that I have now is that she is with my Dad on his birthday

Hibernation

When I first started needing to wear compression socks, I wore them two or three times a week. It was only when my legs started getting elephantitis and my ankles turned to cankle‘s that I would wear them. I never wore them in late spring and summer because it was too warm!

Fast forward to today and I HAVE to wear them all the time! I found out a few weeks ago that NOT having them on for the slightest amount of time makes my feet turn purple. Now, I like the color purple, in fact, I love it! But this type of purple is a purple-black evident of me no longer having the proper bloodflow in my feet. Now, I have to wear my compression socks all the time! Even in the warm late spring and summer months!

I realized today with the extreme humidity and with the rain that my hibernation has begun for this season. By hibernation, I mean staying holed up in my house with the air conditioning on constantly to keep me cool. Because I can no longer regulate my body temperature, I have to wear a hoodie in the cold because if I turn the air off, I melt!

Not only do I melt, compression socks are not designed to breathe! I saw a Duluth Trading Company commercial the other day and it resonated with me.

My compression socks DO NOT breathe! However, I have no choice but to wear them. With the temperature rising and the humidity along with it, I cannot afford to go outside. Thus, I have no other choice and my hibernation has begun.

Over and Over

My cousinT, Shannon, posted a video on Facebook. It was from the musical, Carousel and she talked about, “June busting out all over.” I’ve never seen that musical so I asked her instead, why she didn’t post a video of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers?The girls sing a song about being a June bride in their underwear.

We watched and sang along with this movie in her basement probably about 1 million times growing up! We began conversing about that movie back and forth on Facebook. My former colleague also weighed in. I posted the video on Facebook that I posted here. We laughed back-and-forth discussing all the crazy things that we remember from watching that movie together!

So naturally, that movie was in my head all last night and as soon as I woke up this morning! I checked my TV and I would have to rent it for $3.99 or buy it for $12.99 because it was not free right now. I watched the trailer just to see if I still loved it! I did! That did it for me! I HAD TO buy it! But could I really afford it? As my Mom and I completed my morning routine, I thought about it.

I wasn’t sure if I could wait another three weeks to order it after my next disability check. My Mom kind of laughed and told me that if I DID order it, she was certain that I would watch it 1 million times!

That is a trait that I have inherited from my Mom! Both of us can watch the SAME movie, OVER AND OVER, 1 million times! I didn’t order the movie until after I watched one of my favorite Hallmark movies, Love on the Sidelines.

I have already watched and sang along with it one time and I’ll probably do the same tomorrow. Now, I am currently watching  The Accountant with Ben Affleck because that one is free OnDemand right now and I love that one too! That will probably be my routine tomorrow after I watch GMFB (if they are back from vacay) and check which movie is showing on the Hallmark channel!

Tuuuuuub Water

The other day, as water drained slowly in my tub, my Mom looked at it and remembered a story from my youth. She told me that I slipped in a tub full of water and my Dad pulled me out. She asked me if I remembered it. I’m not sure if I remembered it or if I remember people talking about it when I was young. I’m pretty sure I remembered it though.

Here is the deal; One of my older brothers had a fever so my Mom had filled the tub with cool water to let him soak. The tub was still filled with water. This is the part I remember, I had just learned how to lock the bathroom door. We had a flap that if you lifted it up and turned it and put it down, the door will be locked. I remember looking at the tub and touching the water. I bent over so my face was almost to the water and I fell in.

My Dad was on the side of the house probably getting ready to cut the grass and he heard something fall into the tub of water. He immediately came to the bathroom. I had just locked so he used the palm of his hand to hit the door to knock it open. The indent of his palm stayed on the door until we replaced it. He came in, saw me floundering, and he grabbed me with one hand and flipped me up and I grabbed onto his neck.

I believe I remember actually doing this and remember being wet and clutching my Dad’s shoulder and neck; but I also remember my Dad telling me that story.

We talked about those events as we completed our routine. I started to laugh and I talked her about, “Tuuuuuub water!” My Dad was diabetic for my entire life and subsequently, he would drink a lot of liquid. He constantly had a glass of ice water with him. I was young and I couldn’t reach the kitchen sink but when he would ask to refill his water, I figured out that I could fill his cup with water from the tub. I thought it was so strange because that was where we got bathed but I asked him if it would be okay if I refilled his cup with water from the tub. My Dad had rearranged the hot and cold dials so the cold water was on the left because he had young kids.

I could reach the dial in the tub to refill his cup but I would always ask him first by asking him if, “Is Tuuuuuub water okay?” He would always kind of smirk a bit and I never knew why. As I got older, I understood. I’m not sure why I thought of that, it’s probably because I’ve been missing my Dad a lot lately.

Warholak Tire

Yesterday, my Mom took my car to Warholak tire to get my tires looked at. As it turned out, I needed two new tires. I was able to get new-used tires that ended up being cheaper for me. My Car has never been there or any of my cars hasn’t been there for a very long time!

I am still driving (or rather, my Mom and/or my son) my 2012 Malibu. My Mom or I have always taken my car to Les Stanford because it was under warranty. Because, “Bea” (my car) is no longer under warranty, we go to the places that are more economically sound. These places include Puzzouli‘s Muffler and/or Warholak Tire.

I searched my blog and I was surprised that I had not written about this place! It’s on McGraw, right by my Parents’ house. The two brothers who own it knew my Dad well. I recall my Dad joking around with them whenever I went with him to get the tires fixed. They used to give out pens once your car was serviced. No, it is too expensive to provide their customers with pens.

They were the BEST pens in the world! My Dad used to tell them to give him two pens and I remember taking one of those pens to my first day of work, teaching.

My Mom called me from there yesterday and hearing their voices made me think of my Dad! The first time I was there by myself, I took my Dad’s car in for tires and I was in high school. I was wearing my softball hoodie that had my last name on the back. When I brought the car in, I told Paul exactly what my Dad told me to say verbatim and once I turned around and started to walk away, it was the only time I have ever been asked if, “I was a Rios.” He asked if I was Ray’s daughter and when I smiled and nodded he told me that, “[I’m] a lot better looking then your Dad and you tell him that I said so!”

Another time I was there, I was in college. I had my U of M sticker in my back window and Mike’s son was there. He was wearing a shirt that had Paul’s name on it. I think he was a couple years younger than me and he also attended U of M Dearborn so as I spoke with him and I called him, “Pauley.” I thought nothing of it but it wasn’t until the next time I came and spoke with Mike that he told me that that was HIS son and his name was NOT Paul.

Mike told me that he thought that his son must have liked me because no 20-year-old young man would let just anyone call him, “Pauley.”

When I heard my Mom talking to the guys yesterday, I could almost smell the waiting room that smells like my Dad‘s old truck growing up! I love that smell! Yesterday, my Mom and I spoke of my Dad a lot! Mike told my mom that my tires were good until the fall. It feels good that my tires are in good hands with Warholak Tire and it makes me happy that I believe my Dad is proud of me!

Ties

It was a rough go this morning for me to say the least! I awakened when I heard Sean rustling around getting ready for school. I rolled onto my back just in time for my knee to pop out of its socket. Of course I gasped because it hurt. I can’t believe that almost 3 years after my injury that this is STILL occurring!

I heard my Mom open the front door and when she got into my room and put my shoes on, I asked her to raise my right ankle. She wasn’t sure why she was doing this until when it was considerably raised from the bed and popped back into place! She told me it was a, “little pop” but I assured him that it STILL HURT!

Once I was seated in my wheelchair, J wheeled to the living room and turned on GMFB. Because I was groggy and in pain from my knee popping out, I just laid my head back onto the head rest and sat there. Peter was not at the breakfast table but after I sat there for a while, Will Selva came on the screen from the newsroom in Culver City. I noticed his tie! I liked it! He looked good in it! It was a brick color. I had to tweet him:

I really liked that he just about always tweets me back with a response! I had to tweet him back!

I will HAVE to notice when and if he wears the other two ties I like! It reminds me of my teaching days. Mr. Wright has 1 million ties! I would always tell him that I liked his tie and he would tell me, “ I like your style.” To which I responded, “ I like your moves.” After a few years, I told him that, “I want to submit a request.” He had a couple purple ties that I preferred! When I would see him in the teachers lounge and he would be wearing my request, I would smile and tell him that I liked his tie again!

I’m not sure why I like men wearing ties! But I do! Sean wears a tie to school for the second and third quarters every year. Once he started high school, he can wear any tie he wants. I LOVE buying him ties!

I have also figured out how I can get a bunch of discounted ties around Christmas time at Macy’s. Sean does not like getting ties as Christmas presents so I give them to him just before Christmas. He doesn’t take care of them! He’s a teenager!

He once got a compliment about all of his ties from his friend, (I think it was his prom date) and I smiled when he told me. He told me that he thought that I would like that because I’m weird about the ties!

Well, I guess I am! It’s the fourth quarter right now so he wears a polo shirt to school. I am no longer teaching so I can’t complement all of Mr. Wright’s ties so I guess I may be going through a little bit of withdrawl right now. I am glad that Will Selva will respond to my complements about his ties! That made me smile even though I was having a pretty rough morning with my knee popping out! All the rain today is not helping either! UGH!!!

A Mug

Yesterday, Torry Holt was on GMFB. He was a wide receiver for the Rams and the Jaguars in the early 2000‘s.

I wasn’t as big of a football fan back then because I had just had a baby so I was busy. They talked about his nickname, “Big Game,” his life after football, and his Hall of Fame push because even though he has great numbers, he still NOT in the Hall.

I enjoyed learning about him and was stunned at the last part of the interview! Yesterday was his birthday. He’s 43. Happy Birthday, Mr. Holt! Kay gave him a birthday present. She gave him a mug! What?! I have wanted one of those since I started watching the show when I was first injured. They could make a killing on selling them because lots of people I follow on Twitter talk about wanting one too.

I guess I have to figure out a way to be on the show next year on my birthday, (March 12). I won’t be 43 but 38. That would be an excellent present! Especially because I cannot drink out of regular cups anymore now. If anybody at the breakfast table wants to send me one before then, I’m cool with that too!

I have tweeted all of them a bunch about wanting a mug and I even sent a picture of one of my mug trees with an empty place and I told them I had a spot for a GMFB mug! It really would be cool if they sold those mugs!

Worth It!

Upon opening my eyes this morning, my knee was killing me and my body really hurt! It was rough! My mom got me out of bed and I sat in front of my TV and watched GMFB. I sat there sipping my Kiefer and trying to wake up and I couldn’t figure out what Kyle Brant was wearing!

It took a couple segments for me to learn that Kyle and Nate switched clothes for today. So, what Kyle was wearing is normally what Nate wears and what Nate was wearing is normally what Kyle wears. I can imagine both of them wearing each other‘s clothes and looking completely normal! But…

Kyle said that he looks a like Ralph Furley from Three’s Company.

Once he said that, I smiled to myself and laughed. I tweeted him saying that he looks more like Larry Dallas.

  • Studio Publicity Still from Three s Company Richard Kline 1979 Los Angeles CA USA PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xAmericanxPictorialx 31718005 Studio Publicity quiet from Three S Company Richard Kline 1979 Los Angeles Approx USA PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright xAmericanxPictorialx 31718005

I could really see Nate pulling off the lavender pants and lavender shoes but Kyle made it absolutely hilarious! Nate was wearing a print similar to the one Larry is wearing in the picture but it was buttoned up.

My Mom showed back up to my house just after the first broadcast of GMFB. I really liked being able to catch the, “Week in Review” clips at the end! I really love this show! Off-season is so entertaining! I had been telling my Mom that today was National Donut Day for a couple weeks now. The door opened but I am no longer able to turn my head to the right so she walked around toward the left side of my chair so I could see her. She had brought me a Donut! I asked her to get me a pain pill and some milk and I would eat that donut with my pill.

A little while after we finished our morning routine, I had an appointment to get my haircut and my eyebrows waxed. That’s pretty much the ONLY time I get out of the house these days. After my appointment, we ended up having to get my nephew from work.

What ended up happening is that I was in the car too long… AGAIN! My feet begin to throb and as my Mom transferred me into my manual chair to get back into my house and then transferred me to my motorized chair, I begin to melt. I always feel bad when my Mom witnesses me melting or otherwise in pain.

She transferred me back into my motorized chair once I was in the house. I was able to elevate my legs but I was still pretty miserable. I wheeled into my bedroom because it’s cooler there and as I sat they’re trying to cool down, I begin to cry! It really hurts to go from extreme temperature to extreme temperature. By the time I got home from my haircut and wax, the weather was not, “Damp” any longer but rather extremely warm! Either way, my knee STILL was killing me!

Once I was beginning to cool down, I asked my Mom for some milk and ate another pain pill because I was miserable! My Mom left to water her flowers. I sat and watched a Hallmark movie as I finished my milk.

There was a knock at the door which startled me but then I heard my Mom called out that it was her. I knew she had a key and she came in. She walked to my left side and she handed me a Tim Hortons bag. It had a donut in it! It was from Tim Horton’s! My favorite place for donuts! Sean and his friends call it, “Timmy Ho’s” now that a Tim Hortons has just been built near his school.

So what that I had TWO donuts today?! It IS National Donut Day! I haven’t had a donut all year! And I was not able to go to Donut Fest at Eastern market that I was looking forward to because it was way too cold! Looks like I will have to pencil in this day as a cheat day as well as my birthday! I had two additional ounces of Kiefer today because I had so much sugar! It was worth it!