Broken Lives Matter

Hello Lovelies! Today is horrible and rainy/cloudy, which suits my mood:( I've been think a lot about mental disability today (and every day, since May is Brain Tumor Awareness month). And I've always assumed I didn't qualify as "mentally disabled". But here's the thing--we're ALL dealing with things that sometimes make us FEEL disabled. In my quest to find something I'm good at, I've failed at so many things, so many times, that I've all but told myself to forget it. The list of things I've tried and failed at is discouragingly long, and it has occurred to me that mental disability doesn't HAVE to be the label we ascribe to ourselves. It is possible that certain things are just not for us. For example, I would be pretty useless at a job with an deviating schedule, even if I was the one who chose the hours! I'm not sure I'd be able to "maintain" at a position that was constantly in flux. But I still don't think

This came across my feed, and it was too lovely! I have something else to add, but I'll do so in another entry today. I think it's important that THIS one stands alone.

Exactly what so many people don't understand!! A disability isn't always a physical or mental abnormality! Sometimes it's MUCH more than meets the eye:

Hello and Good Morning, Lovelies! A sunny and glorious day has developed, after some SERIOUS drenching earlier, that we desperately needed:) And I'm very delighted to watch it all from behind my elevated windows:) Not that the conditions aren't ideal--they're not. Ideal would be if it didn't look so horribly windy out there! I'm all about getting fresh air and exercise, but with the promise of constant winds batting my walker around and challenging my every step forward--I'd just as soon stay in and avoid the hassle for a while. I'll be out again tonight anyway, volunteering. The big news I just heard is that Google Maps is making some changes for the Disabled in a few large cities! They're making it possible in cities like Boston, Massachusetts and Sydney, Australia, for the disabled community (or otherwise wheelchair bound) to choose "accessible" when filtering their directions! So finally, instead of just saying I want "walking d

It's a beautiful rainy day, Lovelies! Scattered downpours and this and that, but otherwise coolness and rain and a little bit of a breeze, which is much appreciated. I've discovered over my nearly four years here that heat only rises in my home when it's warmer outside, which makes no scientific sense but...here we are. And there it is. The one thing I can always be sure of is that if there is the slightest breeze to be had, my windows will suck it inside! Just reflecting today on the importance of a group of friends--or several DIFFERENT groups of friends. I'm so amazed and grateful that at this stage in my life, I have groups of friends ALL over the country. I know that's not unusual among those for whom travel is a bit easier, but as someone with mobility concerns (I wouldn't call them 'issues' or 'limitations'), I'm humbly impressed with myself for amassing such an accomplishment! And I know, thanks to the miracle of Facebook and the

I found this simultaneously heartening (it's happening) and disheartening (not in my country). And I'm fairly sure that with accessibility AND nature not a top priority in the U.S at the moment, it'll be a while before we follow in Canada's footsteps. Not to mention other factors that involve the political climate:( But we mustn't despair. The fact that it's happening at all, anywhere in the world, means that one day the natural world will be accessible to all people--everywhere. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/accessible-bus-banff-lake-louise-1.5139619?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar&fbclid=IwAR1RfgxzM5rk1liDlq92K43VwVfg69BeAS-NI588BkIpZWdwfb2Opy5pd4I

Happy Thursday, Lovelies! Took a little break from the regime on Sunday...not much to report. But here we are back on schedule, and the sun is trying to shine:) It's trying. We had a little rain this morning, like we do...but nothing remarkable. I always think of the effect rain will have on the "complicated" workings of my walker, which is old and clunky enough that I COULD swap it out for the one I've got in reserve...but I'm used to the one I have. So used to it I'm willing to put up with its growing number of idiosyncrasies. The damp air might wreak havoc on the metal parts, letting things slowly rust until I can't fold the darn thing up to save my LIFE. It may make a clunking noise as I push it, a far cry from the steady whoosh the tires used to make when they weren't bald--four years and many hundreds of miles ago. And that idiotic bell I've put on it to get people's attention when I need to pass through them--that may ring just t

Hello Lovelies:) The rain. The April/May Showers. They do not seem to be ending. At least not for any appreciable length of time, any time soon:( Seems like they started Monday and just rolled on and on. Which is probably what happened, although don't ask me; I've been forced to "maintain" pretty much exclusively indoors this week. Though yesterday afternoon-evening I did briefly force myself out of exile to get a few groceries and see a movie ("The Russian Five", about hockey; I'm a die-hard fan). This morning I woke up and everything was as wet and gray as it's always been! I have some groceries I want to order for delivery, but I'm holding off until my "Government stipend" as I refer to it euphemistically--arrives tomorrow. That will make my bank account just a tiny bit healthier, which will make me just a tiny bit happier, though honestly not by much:( One little financial issue popped up yesterday; unfortunately without my kno