“Dang!” I looked down at my phone sitting on the pavement next to my feet. “Not again!” I picked it up to inspect the damage. The crack across the top third of the screen wasn’t new – that happened four days ago. “Whew, dodged another crack in the screen,” I said more for my benefit than my husband’s, who was shaking his head at me from inside the Jeep.
“I told you NOT to put your phone in the door,” he reminded me. Okay, so this drop WAS NOT related to MS. I had been stupid and rested my phone on the door handle. A few minutes later, I turned my phone on, and this is what I saw. Dang, it! It’s not a crack, but it’s worse! Yikes!
I drop my phone regularly. At 54-years old and on my 26th year with MS, my hands do not grip like they did in my younger years. Grip fatigue causes my hand to release whatever I am carrying. Signals can also get crossed in the MS brain due to lesions, though I believe my issue is hand muscle fatigue and weakness. For years, I didn’t feel my hands at all. Then out of the blue, the feeling returned. But as for strength? Well, that’s a different story.
Now I’m faced with this decision: Buy a hefty case to lug around or continue to pay $150 to replace the screen every month or two. This will be the seventh – yes, the seventh – screen my husband will have replaced for me in just over a year.
In 1992, my mother made me the most beautiful tree skirt. It meant even more to me after she passed away four years ago. It has been under my tree for 28 Christmas seasons. This year, the floor is naked. Where did I put that skirt? I can’t find it anywhere. The thing is, all my Christmas stuff is stored in a collection of boxes. I don’t stuff things here, there, and everywhere. So, where is it? Sigh. I hope it shows up. If I find it, I will post a picture.
Look who’s in the news this week. Marguerite House wrote an excellent article about me and my book, “The Call of the Last Frontier: The True Story of a Woman’s Twenty-Year Alaska Adventure.” Click on my image or the Cody Enterprise to read the article. The newspaper even put a photo of the book that is close to life-size. Score! Thank you for your support Marguerite and Cody Enterprise.
The holiday season brings all the delights of:
– enjoying Christmas dinner at the fire hall – Thank you, Carol Powers & her many helpers!
– helping elderly neighbors string up their lights
– baking cut-out cookies with my grandchildren
– wrapping presents destined to sit under other people’s trees
– hearing the holiday songs in the stores
– enjoying the nighttime drives to see the Christmas light displays
I can’t help but remember the past celebrations with those I have loved and cared about over the years. Too many loved ones are waiting on the other side now. I guess that’s the danger of getting older. Today, I was even called a senior by a young woman, and she wasn’t talking about a senior in high school or even college, for that matter. Oh my! Time is marching on.
May all my readers find joy and happiness in this holiday season!
