Category: A Bit Of Randomness

I packed up Jonah‘s second package today:

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I think my Mom will take it to the post office tomorrow. As I was packing it, Sean brought over the box of all of the things I have for both Natalie and Jonah to the kitchen table. As he put it on the table, he let me know that it is ONLY because I have so much fun sending these packages to them that he doesn’t eat all of the snacks because I keep the box of snacks in my room. He could get to it if you wanted to. I kind of laughed and thanked him for NOT eating all the snacks!

There were only a few Hershey kisses left, not enough to send to Jonah, so Sean ate them. When I was just about finished with putting the things in the package, Sean put one Hershey kiss inside. Sean laughed and said that it’s from him. I think I will have to tell Jonah that. I really DO dig sending these packages! Especially with the Michigan stickers! I have to order more stickers because I have gone through four pages of Michigan stickers because now I will have sent four packages to them.

It’s fun and it reminds me of when my Mom sent me packages when I was away at college.

I think it’s crazy how I get random memories of my days teaching. The memory I had, had to be of my last four years teaching and my third classroom/office. My third office was a small converted closet adjacent to the cafeteria where the physical education classes were also held. The classes the time were no larger than 15 students and three of the classes had six students in them.

It was cozy and intimate. I’m sure I have pictures of it and I will look for one and post some here:

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I thought of my last classroom because I saw this commercial:

The commercial made me think of, “Wipe-off Wednesdays.” I didn’t use Lysol wipes but rather Clorox wipes or the Target brand:

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I would buy these canisters by the pair. My students preferred the green ones to the yellow but I wouldn’t get more until both canisters were gone. Because I was teaching in a manual wheelchair and in a very small room, I couldn’t navigate through the table in the back. That’s when I enlisted students to wipe the tables off toward the end of class. They always knew what it was, “Wipe-off Wednesday” and would remind me whenever I forgot which was pretty often.

I found that to be necessary because the tables would get pretty dirty and then the kids would get sick, especially when it was cold outside. My students were a great help to me for most of my time teaching. I was in a mirror wheelchair for in large part of my time teaching. I think it’s amazing that a random commercial will remind me of “Wipe-Off Wednesdays,” I can still smell them.

I know that I have written previously about Adam calling my nails, “Claw nails” before. I reread a post from August 2015 and I talked about Adam telling me about my, “Claw nails.” He must have told me about my, “Claw nails” even before August 2015 because then, I was working with Mike Morfitt at Barwis. after Nick Montoni had already gone back to school.

I used to bite my nails until I was about 10 or 11. I don’t really place much importance on my nails now, but rather, just let them grow. When one of them breaks, I cut them all down and start again. I don’t really think about it until someone comments on my nails. I remember telling Adam I like to wash my hair with long fingernails. It feels cool on my scalp. I remember once being at ATI and my nails are pretty long and I held up my hand and told Brad that these nails were the nails of someone who was unemployed.

Well, I am still unemployed and these are my nails:

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As you can see, one of them broke yesterday.

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Now that my MS has progressed to where it is, I do not have much hand control. Meaning – I can no longer cut all of my nails down by myself. I have to ask my Mom to do it for me. She is a pretty busy lady and so, currently, I am left with my nails being uneven. It kind of drives me crazy! But, alas, like many things, I just have to wait. I try NOT to think about it because it feels weird but my nails will all be sure soon enough.

I am really feeling the cold for the first time today! It is the first time I have busted out my winter hat to wear while in my house. So I have sat here with my arms folded inside my sweatshirt and my mouth and chin in my sweatshirt as well. I think it’s a little bit crazy that I can’t afford to just blast the heat!

But, I was able to watch Hocus Pocus another time today and I am getting ready to watch the Lions. Sean is at work and I am recording it. I also am wearing Sean‘s Lions hat because I can’t find mine and I am way too cold!

The game is going to start now and I hope the Lions win so I can hear the breakfast table talk about them nicely tomorrow morning!

Parent-teacher conferences were held at Sean’s school today. I very much wanted to go but realized that I cannot be seated in my manual wheelchair for that long of a period of time. I rented a van to accommodate my motorized wheelchair. I really haven’t been in public in my motorized wheelchair. I went to a movie last July and it was during the day so not many people were there.

So here I was, wanting to go to conferences and I decided that I needed to pay for the van rental. So I did! Now, I can no longer drive, I haven’t been driving for a few years now so my Mom drove the van for me. She accompanied me to the conferences to move the chairs when I needed her to and to guide me when my eyes began to shake a little bit.

Sean wanted to go watch the Pistons’ game with his friends, I think they went to B Dubs, so my Mom drove the van back to Creative (formally Advantage). So she dropped me off at home first and then drove the van out to Wayne and Sean picked her up from there after he had picked up my nephew from work.

So, after conferences, and the fact that it was cold and rainy outside, I didn’t feel so well. When I don’t feel well, it’s customary that I watch Hocus Pocus.

My Mom came into my house to use the bathroom during the scene when Winifred Sanderson is singing at the Town Jall Halloween party. The scene where Bette Midler sings, just HAS to be sang along with. Now, I am no longer a singer and I have discussed that before here but I did carry a tune a bit during this song. My Mom opened the door and asked if I was singing along? Of course I was!

She came out of the bathroom toward the end of the movie where Max and Allison hear something upstairs and go up to Max’s room to check on Dani. I have seen this movie so many times that I know what to expect. But what I didn’t expect is to hear my Mom scream at the part where Sarah is in the bed under the covers pretending to be Dani.

Seriously, she let out a bloodcurdling scream! Of course, I jumped because I was scared at her scream! Then we both started to laugh and I told her, “You scared me!” She kind of rolled her eyes and told me that I have seen this movie so many times that I should know what is coming! But what I told her was that what I did NOT know is that someone who is standing behind my right shoulder would scream so loudly! It scared me! FOR REAL! It didn’t even matter that this was the 19th time I have seen the movie this October!

Okay, so, it’s pretty obvious that I really dig Hocus Pocus in the month of October. This year is my second year watching the movie TONS of times! I started it mid-October last year and I ended up watching the movie 11 times! So far, this year I have watched the movie 20 times.

I post on Facebook how many times I watch the movie and many of my Facebook friends comment that I am crazy but I like the movie because it reminds me of being young and I was able-bodied back then and I really miss that every day! Because I know the movie so well, I do not have to concentrate really hard and it gives my eyes a rest because I do not have to concentrate on new content. I just like the movie!

Last night, when I posted that I had seen the movie 19 times this October, I got suggestions from my friends on Facebook. One friend told me about a play that is going on in Flint but that is kind of far from my house and I don’t have a vehicle to transport my motorized chair. Then, another friend on Facebook let me know that The Henry Ford is showing the movie next week.

That fact really sparked my interest because I seriously live about two blocks from The Henry Ford. I asked my Mom if she would accompany me to see it. She told me that she would. Sean did not have school today so I called to him while he was in his room and asked if you wanted to accompany us to see the movie at The Henry Ford. Surprisingly, he agreed! So, I have a date!

I feel protected with my, “2 Sacreds” accompanying me. My Mom and I started working out the logistics of how this will work. I will drive my motorized chair to get there and Sean and my Mom will walk. When I called the IMAX to reserve tickets, I explained that I am in a motorized wheelchair and my Mom is a senior. Sean is a senior too but it’s in high school. I just purchased him a regular ticket.

I am a little bit nervous to get there and be in public but I feel protected with my really big motorized wheelchair. I very rarely get to go out and I am kind of excited to go out next Friday!

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I wonder how many times I will have seen the movie by then. I told another Facebook friend that my goal to see the movie this year is 31. If I count last year and this year, it well equal 31.