I saw on Facebook the other day that a friend posted an image of a gingerbread man dancing because it was almost December! I thought it was so cute and I shared it. But really, that’s not how my Decembers go since 2000. I am not looking forward to December 28 because that will be 23 years that I will have had Multiple Sclerosis.
I tell my Mom that it is starting to get ‘real’ now and she asked me, “Hasn’t it always been?” I usually let out of sigh, a dejected sigh and I answer with, “Yeah.”
These are my December jams:
But this song is popping up in my head as well, and is reminding me of driving to Barwis. There was snow outside:
I noticed this last night, and I just thought to take a picture of it to let everyone know that it is no longer necessary for me to use a ‘bag o’-chapstick’ for the rest of the year because this happened yesterday:
The cap for this chapstick still fits on it and I don’t need to put it in a bag, but I will use it all just the same. I have a box of four sealed Ginger Spice flavors so I am always prepared to start a new tube! That flavor reminds me of MY Abuela!!! my Mom and I have been talking about her a lot and my Mom is telling me of how much of an extraordinary woman she was!!!
I totally am completely a planner! But I’m not even embarrassed about it anymore!!!
Sean stopped by again today and instead of putting the lights on, we watched this movie:
My Aunt Lola recommended it to my Mom and me a while ago and I thought we could watch it at Christmas time! It’s not available on any of my streaming platforms so my Mom bought it on Xfinity and we watched it yesterday. We watched it today with Sean.
We had a pause in our tree decorating for right now, but Sean will come over tomorrow so we can finish it.
I just changed my profile picture on Facebook and Twitter to the infamous #TriBotChristmas picture! I think Sean was six.
I have already posted that Thanksgiving for me this year was the very first in my chronic illness where it just felt like just another day. That completely startles me!!!
It has been a litany of me apologizing and constantly telling my Mom that I did not think it would ever get this bad! But, it’s really not that bad! Yes! This hurts a whole lot every second of every day for the rest of my life but I think I am in a Good headspace.
I am praying a lot more and that is helping me. Close to 23 years of dealing with this chronic illness definitely has me startled to say the least!!!
I have been dealing with my latest significant disease progression since I woke up in pain on October 28. I immediately thought to ‘ask the experts’ and pose the question in one of my MS groups.
When I did not receive an immediate answer, I started racking my brain and it was then that I remembered that Jen, the nurse practitioner gave us wedges while I was being seen at the infectious disease clinic when I had my pressure sores. I remember telling her that I didn’t need them, but she very calmly and knowingly said, “You will.”
I looked through my MyChart and noted that I saw her on July 11, 2022. Well, and October 28, 2023 I needed them. Now I sleep with a sacral off-loader:
My Mom and I call it the ‘ninja turtle’ because that’s what it looks like. When my Mom helps me into bed, she puts a wedge under my right hip. When she gets up with Leia in the morning, she moves the wedge from my right hip to my left.
She will put the wedge under my right hip while I am awake, because that is my twice broken, surgically repaired knee. We have to be careful there! I am asleep when she puts the right side in. I don’t wake up; but when I wake up for the day, my hips do not hurt.
I originally thought that my hips would be made to feel better after seeing Dr. Clark but my nutrition is fine, now waiting to talk to the orthopedist. My appointment is for January 3. I’m really not looking forward to that. It’s in the back of my mind but historically, this time of year is pretty heavy with medical diagnoses…
*Oh, don’t mind my windows because I need new ones and it’s cold outside!
This is a movie that my Mom and I watch pretty much every Christmas. Danica McKellar is no longer with the Hallmark channel but I kind of like this song! I didn’t even watch the whole movie today so I didn’t get to see it but, I put it here so I can hear it:
I finished my Salted Caramel ‘bag-o-chapstick’ today. I only have 7 tubes left to finish before I will switch over to exclusively Vanilla Maple during the fall. That probably will happen in a couple years. I don’t have any more ‘bags-o-chapstick’ left (except for one Pomegranate that I will finish just before Spring), so I’m just working out of the box:
I know that this fact does not matter at all, but it keeps my mind busy, and since I have been homebound, I have not not finished an entire tube of Chapstick! I know that this fact does not matter at all, but it keeps my mind busy, and since I have been homebound, I have NOT not finished an entire tube of chapstick!
I am watching a Hallmark Christmas movies early because my MOM is here and she likes them. I saw my first commercial today and she was in the living room when it came we both, “Awew”ed together:
