| Jazmee27
|
======
- “Not until 1979 did the last American state finally repeal its "Head and Master" law, which had given husbands the final say over many aspects of family
life. Not until 1993 did marital rape become a crime in every state, overturning the millennia-old tradition that a wife was obligated to have sex with
her husband whenever he demanded it.” What is that, like a master and slave relationship? “You must do as I say, or else!”
|
Reply #641. Jun 10 12, 3:59 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
======
- “Many departures from "traditional" marriage have been for the good. But the same changes that have made marriages fairer and potentially more rewarding
for both partners have made marriage more optional, requiring partners to negotiate more than in the past. The multiplication of new options, combined
with the rapidity of changes in gender roles and social values has had destabilizing and sometimes troubling results for the organization of interpersonal
obligations. Trying to revert to antiquated and unfair traditions is not the answer. We need to figure out how to build on the opportunities and minimize
the risks associated with the ongoing modernization of marriage. It helps no one to wage futile culture wars to return to a tradition that wasn't half
as clear-cut or advantageous as many people believe.” Couldn’t have said it any better!
|
Reply #642. Jun 10 12, 4:00 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
======
Grandma spent the entire weekend scrubbing the furniture and spraying vinegar all over the house to rid it of fleas. Michael’s room seemed to be the worst, but they had to spray both the downstairs and upstairs twice. Finally, Grandma told Michael his bed had to be moved, since with the dust ruffle hanging over the mattress, any fleas underneath weren’t being killed of by the vinegar. So that’s what they did:
- “We vacuumed the mattress and box spring and sprayed the hell out of everything.”
Hopefully, the tiny creatures are now purged from the house. But if not, Michael and Grandma will have to “bomb” the house with this vapor that kills them, and stay out of the house for at least two hours. “I told Michael if we have to do that again, then we have to evacuate the cats somehow.”
|
Reply #643. Jun 10 12, 4:02 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
======
So what exactly is a flea? How tiny is it? And what is this “flea season”? How does one get rid of fleas? For answers, I once again turned to the Internet.
The first site I clicked on was  http://www.stopthefleas.com/. There I learned:
|
Reply #644. Jun 10 12, 4:03 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
MOVING ON TO OTHER TALES OF YESTERYEAR
======
I forget what I was doing the other day, but I was immediately reminded of my stay in the Hyman Kaplan when the one woman who worked in OT, I think her name was Debbie, told of how her daughter was to be a bell ringer in a wedding. “Isn’t it the funniest thing you ever heard?” she asked, “she’s going to announce, ‘The bride is coming, the bride is coming!’
|
Reply #645. Jun 10 12, 6:02 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
======
Such memories take that month I was away from the apartment and make it bearable, and give me something pleasant to remember. And, in a way, it reminded me there was a world beyond the short-term Nursing Home.
Of course, when I was finally discharged to that world was one of the happiest days of that year. But I’ll always remember Debbie, and Diana, and Irene, and Penney, and Dwayne, and Helen, and Shirley, and Tom, and Virginia, and David… And each one will have his or her own place in my heart.
|
Reply #646. Jun 10 12, 6:03 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
======
You’ll notice I didn’t include Sally on the list, and that’s because I left the day after she arrived. But my other two roommates, Ginny and Shirley: Shirley, whose thick Dutch accent made me want to laugh, Shirley who was in her early seventies and who was the one who staunchly refused she was diabetic in spite of what the doctors and nurses told her, the one who’d scold her boyfriend as if he was a kid; and Virginia, whom everyone called Ginny and was in her nineties, whose son David visited regularly. .
|
Reply #647. Jun 10 12, 6:04 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
======
My mind wanders to the day Georgette told me she tries toexercise and lose weight, but she’s always so tired, and she feels so misunderstood, and how nobody understands… “It’s not easy!” Well, of course it isn’t, but what part of life is? It seems to me that life just throws one thing after another at me, and I’m left here to struggle through everything the best I can, and most of the time it’s just… Why do I even bother?
|
Reply #648. Jun 10 12, 6:05 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
WHATEVER PROMPTED THAT, IT SOUNDS FAMILIAR
======
Of course, yesterday part of the answer came to me: where would Ethan be without me? If I’m right and he is afraid I’ll leave him for more than a few hours, then I owe it to him toi keep my strength up; and I owe it to myself to do so, since winding up in hospital again and being separated from Ethan might well destroy me this time. But last night, as Mom was nagging at me, I was half tempted to lash out more, to tell her that the more she nags, the less I want to do it… B ut I didn’t, because of the love of a tiny bird and my love for him. So, let Mom think her lecture yesterday caused me to see the light. I know better: It’s the thought of being isolated from Ethan, the thought of him being alone in this stuffy apartment for who knows how long, the thought of his needing to be moved so someone can look after him, the thought of what that might do to his spirit… I keep promising him I’m not going anywhere, that I’ll build my strength back up. I’ll do anything to reassure my little guy.
|
Reply #649. Jun 10 12, 6:07 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
I LOVE HER DEARLY, BUT...
======
What Mom doesn’t understand about why I didn’t ride the bike this weekend, and which I’m unwilling to voice because she’ll accuse me of making excuses, is this: Saturday, my head was pounding so much I spent the better part of the day in bed, and by the time I got up it was too late to ride; and yesterday, I had company and then I “broke” the walker, so there really wasn’t time to go ride the bike. But today, I vow to at least do five minutes. I’d do more, except that my left foot is hurting and the most I managed on there was two minutes.
Last night, I had ice on the foot, and it seemed to help somewhat, but it still hurts when I put weight on it and wants to buckle. But if I’m careful, If I’m expecting it, then I can keep myself upright. So, easy? Hardly. It’s just something I have to do.
|
Reply #650. Jun 10 12, 6:08 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
SOME MEMORIES STILL FIRE MY BLOOD NO MATTER HOW MUCH TIME ELAPSES
=====
The question hung in the air between us: “Was there, to your knowledge, any talk of an early language development?” Not that I knew of, but I explained about the advanced vocabulary that pops into my head on occasion. ”That may be an indication of your intellect…”
------
ONE OF MY MANY CONVERSATIONS WITH DEB BYBEE, ODS COORDINATOR AT HACC AND PSYCH INSTRUCTOR
|
Reply #651. Jun 10 12, 6:11 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
======
Our talk then turned to serviceces in the area, which are sorely lacking to put it nicely. And then, I had a thought: “I majored in Social Work, but I really enjoy writing, so maybe I can combine the two?” In full agreement, the ODS coordinator suggested that I write about “your experiences and get them out there”. Perhaps, like the people I’m reading about who started organizations with Service Dogs and the like, I can make a difference through my writing. Forget, for the moment, that I once gravitated solely to fiction. I do, to some extent, still think I want to write fantasy/science fiction, but I also want to help those who, like me, are searching for supports in the community but can’t find them.
|
Reply #652. Jun 10 12, 6:12 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
======
In the course of the conversation, I explained how I’d been reading about Avoidant Personality Disorder, and how every one of the symptoms fit me. And I asked “is it possible that I have both a developmental disability and a personality disorder?” Answer, “Yes… They’re not usually exclusive.”
|
Reply #653. Jun 10 12, 6:13 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
======
A lot to think about, and I remembered the one time I got mad in an IEP meeting. I was reading through the brailled document when I noticed two abbreviations near the top of the page: VI and LD. For a second, I was tempted to ask what they meant, but then I thought: “Visually impaired and learning disability”. And my blood began to boil, for while |
Reply #654. Jun 10 12, 6:14 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
OOPS - DIDN'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT THE PARAGRAPH LIKE THAT
======
I may not be able to see well, I was not learning disabled; now, looking back, my thought is, “even if I do have a disability of some sort, I refuse to be labeled.” To label an individual is to insult one’s intelligence: just because one is “disabled” doesn’t mean he or she can’t function; it just means that that functioning is different than what is expected. Such individuals have different ways of doing things, which reflect their thought processes.
------
WELL PUT!
|
Reply #655. Jun 10 12, 6:16 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
======
It was very nice, and very unexpected. “I bought you some lotion,” Dorothy told me when she and Georgette were seated at the kitchen table. Then she let me smell the first one to see if I liked it. “What is it?” I asked. “It’s called Coconut Vanilla.”
She also got me the body splash of that scent, plus both the lotion and spray of Black Raspberry Vanilla. She didn’t ask me to smell it, as I told her I loved that one. “I’m like my Grandmother that way.”
|
Reply #656. Jun 10 12, 6:17 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
DID I READ THAT RIGHT? 33 PAGES? IN A MONTH?
|
Reply #657. Jun 10 12, 6:17 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
IT ALWAYS DISTURBS ME TO HEAR THAT SOMEONE'S PET HAS BEEN ABUSED IN ANY WAY (I know - I've done it, too, but I was truly remorseful - and those who clearly aren't just annoy the sh*t out of me!)
======
Grandma took Little Girl to the vet again as she’s not feeling well, vomiting and standing with her head down, as if lifting it’s a chore. She was seen yesterday; the news was so upsetting it had Grandma in tears on the drive home.
|
Reply #658. Jun 10 12, 6:21 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
AT THE TIME THE NEWS CAME OUT, MOM AND I RESOLVED TO STAY OUT OF THE MIDDLE, AS WE HADN'T BEEN THERE WHEN THE CAT WAS INJURED (IT WAS POSSIBLE GRANDMA HAD MADE UP THE STORY TO COVER HER TRACKS)
======
It was the night after the Memorial Day picnic, and most everybody had already left. Michael’s new girlfriend, Michelle, was inside the house, Little Girl was on the windowsill… and Grandma was outside at the grill, checking to see that nothing was left on it.
The kitchen window looks out at the picnic table and the grill, so Grandma was able to see what was happening inside: “All of a sudden, I saw Michelle trab Little Girl by the neck and throw her across the room at the metal cabinet there.”
|
Reply #659. Jun 10 12, 6:23 PM
|
| Jazmee27
|
MICHAEL ONCE ASKED GRANDMA "HOW DO WE GET PAST THIS?" SHE TOLD HIM SHE'D BE WILLING TO TALK TO MICHELLE IF THE OTHER WOMAN CAME TO HER, BUT IT NEVER HAPPENED. "I left the ball in her court..."
======
When Grandma confronted her, Michelle made up some nonsense: “Oh, Little Girl and I, we’re just playing.” “Then why is she all the way over there?” “She must have gotten tired of our game.” Sure she did-and I was born yesterday!
------
THAT'S NOT EVEN THE WORST PART.
|
Reply #660. Jun 10 12, 6:26 PM
|
Legal / Conditions of Use
|
Play Now! 
: