Who is more over it? We who have already been subjected to them for weeks or the actors who had to make them in July? We. The actors got paid.
THEN
The Seven Year Sitch
“I am thankful that I didn’t wake up blind this morning as I did on November 28, 2012. Life goes on and isn’t that the greatest blessing of them all?” — Sister Rain
Larger Than Life . . . And Death
I recently wrote about my mom-in-law’s best friend, “She Left Us Her Best”. And now it’s time to tell you about my dad-in-law’s counterpart. David was my dad-in-law’s best friend for 40 years. He was the first call my husband made when his dad died during an outpatient heart procedure….
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The Excited Bird
I aspire to greet every day as Piper does: Excited and raring to go. Photo credit: Auntie D
When Only The F Word Will Do
As we pulled into the Philadelphia parking garage for some testing at Wills Eye Hospital, the old familiar anxiousness surged through ever fiber of my being. There was no reason for it, the feeling, there would be no results, scary or otherwise, we were on a fact-finding mission. Yet I…
White Wednesday
“The best prices on kitchen products can be found in the back of your cabinets. In box, never used, mint condition. Possibly antique or “vintage”. Free. I like to think of it as ‘mebay’”.
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The 33-Year-Old Bookmark
Growing up I always spent a week in the summer at my Nana’s in Philadelphia and in 1976 I stayed a few extra weeks to join in the city’s celebration of our nation’s bicentennial. One of the many places we visited was the Franklin Institute, a science museum named after Benjamin…
I Must Have Been Moving At The Speed Of Light
“Life can slow us down when it thinks we’re moving too fast, forcing us to see things differently. Notice I said slow not stop.” —- Sister Rain
I’ll Follow Me Everywhere
We all have had to put the past behind us in order to move on with a new normal. Seven years since my vision loss, I have realized that even when we stop looking back and focus on the future, what came before is still with us. The distance between then and…
Monday Kickoff
“The clock is either for you or against you.” — an announcer during a football game It’s Monday. Try to catch everything that’s thrown at you. Run like hell. When necessary, take a timeout. Monday Night Football GO HAWKS
Hide And Beak
“You can hide from the world, but the people who love you will always find you.” — Sister Rain
Loss Change
“The love changes us more than the loss. It’s so very difficult to remember this but so very important that we do. It just may be the key to survival.” — Sister Rain
A Visually Challenged Bird Mom Walks Into A Bar
We have all seen photos of people where there’s a black bar across their eyes to protect their identity. Our eyes show the world who we are. When I just saw one such picture, I had the thought that my eyes have a black bar of sorts across them from…
Coffeehouse Of Horrors
If I eat a chocolate chip muffin while wearing a Hershey’s KISS costume, does that make me a cannibal?
My Takeaway
What is it about a takeaway coffee cup? Expensive and environmentally unfriendly. The baby bottle of adults. Holding one evokes thoughts of yoga pants, entrepreneurs and baristas who become friends. Community. So much better than your favorite mug at home. Rainy days. “You’ve Got Mail”. Seattle. Paparazzi. As if anyone’s looking…
Dislocated Shoulders
As you read this, where are your shoulders? I’m guessing up around your ears where most of us find them. I’ve noticed lately while sitting with Piper, our parrot, or watching TV that my shoulders are in the locked and upright position, or should I say uptight, position. I catch…
Don’t Quit Before The Miracle Happens*
Step 1: Find miracle workers √ Step 2: Believe half-√ * Quote author unknown
Now I Know
I started this blog in 2010 when I was searching for a job during the country’s financial crisis. Back then, it was drilled into us that “It’s who you know” that will land you your next position. Recently I have realized that this doesn’t only apply to finding employment, it pertains…
Morning, You And Night
Going out into our backyard to our trash cans around 9 p.m. one evening, it occurred to me that if I did not know the time I might have thought it was early morning before the sun came up. Any car noise was muted behind our house so that was…
Name That Visually Impaired Challenge
“I can lose that chapstick four times in one day, Tom.”
The Fabric Of Her Life
My mom was a t-shirt and shorts or jeans kind of woman until her death at 79 and I have followed in her fashion footsteps. When she left this earth she left behind many tees proclaiming her love of her favorite sports teams, Ocean City, New Jersey and this country….
Hope Fully Awake
“None of us go to bed thinking that we won’t wake up in the morning. No matter what is on our calendar for tomorrow, those seconds before sleep are the most hopeful of our lives.” — Sister Rain
A License To Fries
One out of five people ask me if I can drive when they first learn that I’m legally blind and every time they ask, it’s like they slapped me. I don’t let them see my reaction, but my visceral response takes all my power not to flinch. Is this the…
Expect A Harken Ahead
We all want R-E-S-P-E-C-T. But there’s something else I have been thinking a lot about lately: E-X-P-E-C-T. It’s a tricky word and one we don’t discuss. We aren’t supposed to openly expect things from others, from life, but instead be a gracious receiver of whatever comes our way. When it…
The Last Page Isn’t Always At The Back Of The Book
I’m halfway through the book I’m reading, the latest by one of my favorite authors, and I have found the main character aggravating from the start. I considered giving up after a few chapters but I love this writer so much, I can’t bail on her or her track record. This…
And Seventy-Five Little Blog Posts
The new season of one of my favorite shows started last week. I had saved the final episode of the previous season to remind myself what is going on before watching this premiere. That old episode had aired on February 28th. It struck me that so many big things have happened…
Teen Bird
Like all 13-year-old boys, when his mom wants to take his picture, Piper wants to bolt.
She Left Us Her Best
When my mother-in-law died eight weeks ago, she left a handful of close friends behind, who have always been like family to us “kids”. Her best friend of 65 years, J, was with us the week between mom’s massive stroke and her death. She had found mom in her bed…
Nighttime Neighborhood Listen
I am taking care of my neighbor’s outside cat and every night around 8 o’clock I sit on the porch with her while she has a bedtime snack and headbutts me for loving. I have lived in this place for over 25 years but never sit out front at night….
“Are Uber Still Mad?”
“Are you still mad?”, the Uber driver said, when I told him about my vision loss. I have never been asked this and i knee-jerk replied, “Not any more.” I thought about it and realized I was never mad. I was sad and lost but never angry. I wonder why I wasn’t?…
Pedaling Away The Cobwebs
Two months after foot surgery, this morning I returned to the exercise bike. It was like sitting down to my first meal with my new dentures. If the meal was deep-fried tarantulas, that is.
The Truth More And Less
“I wouldn’t wish my visual impairment on my worst enemy. But I would wish it on someone with no sight. There’s always someone with less than you. It’s not easy to see sometimes, but it’s there. That’s the thing about the truth.” — Sister Rain
P.M. (Per Mom)
When I got sick as a child, my mom had a saying, “You always feel worse at night”. As I made my way through life, this Momism applied to so many things. Teenage relationships, both with girls and guys, the night before an exam, then job interviews as I moved…
I See No Evil But People Still Speak It To Me
Within a few months of each other, two different adult men have told me they would kill themselves if they ever became visually impaired. What the hell do you do with that? Friends say that I handle people’s reactions to my delivering the status of my sight with grace. The responses…
9/12
Life goes on. It has to. But the day after our world changes forever, it sure feels like it shouldn’t.
NanaRain.net
When my mom passed away, I kept anything I thought I may want, with the thought that I would go through the items when emotions weren’t running so high. I would lose my sight a few months later and the bin stayed closed until a few months ago. Mostly paperwork,…
Farm Fresh Address
Living 35 miles outside of Philadelphia, my hometown is not a booming metropolis. However, when I go to Lancaster or the mountains (which is generic for remote areas west of us, mostly wooded with big hills and lakes, a generic term used here like the beach being called “the shore”),…
AzTechnology
My husband was going to take me to a doctor’s appointment and texted me to let me know he’d be home from work at 2:00 p.m. to pick me up. My appointment was at 1:00. I let him know and he came and got me at the correct time. In…
Friendships
I no longer wonder about the amount of major challenges someone must go through while here on earth. What I have been asking myself, however, given the events of the last month, is how much kindness can one person receive in the course of her life? My closest friends are…
She Left The House But Took The Home
As we visit my mom-in-law’s empty house since her very recent, sudden death, her things are everywhere as one would expect. Mom (G) had a lot of things. She was not a hoarder, but had many decorations, knicknacks are everywhere and the walls are filled with photos, quilts and other…
Captain’s Blog 083019
I recently heard a boat captain say that every night they plot the course for the next day and check the weather. Good advice for all of us. On land or sea.
The Effect Was Personal
As I entered the hospital for outpatient surgery, I carried nothing with me. No phone, no purse, no jewelry, not even my wedding rings. It was an odd feeling to be just me, but not an unpleasant one. As I got dressed after the procedure, habit had me looking for…
Scarred
While getting my stitches out two weeks after foot surgery, my husband and I received a call that his mom had suffered a massive stroke. A few hours later, we learned she would not survive. A week later, she was gone. She was vibrant and healthy and had more energy…
On The DL*
“I woke up blind without warning and live my life with very little sight. And yet foot surgery has shown me that there are still so many lessons left to learn.” * DL = Disabled Lessons
A Near Miss Is Still A Miss
When you dodge a proverbial bullet, there is usually some type of injury from the warning shots that were no doubt fired (how else would you know to duck/run/take cover?) and the intricate maneuvering you’ve had to perform to avoid being hit (without time for stretching) by a bad business deal,…
Watered Down Dispute
My husband has suddenly developed the habit of leaving empty water bottles all over the house. After the three stages of old-married-coupledom: 1) Ask, 2) Tell, 3) Yell, I thought perhaps a story was in order. After all, that’s how children learn. The text conversation went like this: Me: In “Sex…
Live Like Nobody’s Watching
I recently heard the familiar slogan, “Dance Like Nobody’s Watching”. I always thought that was good advice. Now, because of my vision loss, I am both more inside my head than I ever was (and I spent a lot of time in there when fully sighted), and also completely focused…
Sometimes I Edit Myself
I usually spend one day a week writing this blog, fleshing our ideas I jot down as they come to me. When the day comes to post a particular draft, I read through it and often find myself making changes when I thought it was done and ready to go. It’s…
Saying Goodbye To A Friend
Our local police chief passed away suddenly at an unacceptable age, and his family organized a motorcade carrying his body through our community, giving the residents he served an opportunity to pay their respects. I was among the many who lined our streets and the gray day seemed appropriate for…
Reading My Life
I use my mind’s eye more than ever as I live my life with very little sight. It occurred to me recently that perhaps my avid reading since childhood was preparing me for my vision loss. When I read now, with the help of my Merlin electronic magnifier, I see the characters,…
The Seven Year Pain
I have a 5” scar on my ankle, a rod and screws lie underneath. I have been incredibly lucky in that aside from somewhat limited flexibility, I suffer no ill effects from the three surgeries that made that scar almost 20 years ago. Weather doesn’t bother it and unless you…
A Nice Surprise
My husband and I went out to breakfast on Father’s Day and the restaurant was crowded as you would expect. We were seated quickly but it took awhile for our server to arrive. She instantly and profusely apologized and I assured her we understood and not to worry about us….
Silent Partners
“When you find someone who puts the “companion” in companionable silence, offer them a safe and comfy place to perch and hope they never leave.”
In The End, Her Break Was Fast
It is 7 a.m. on a Sunday morning in a residential neighborhood. The sole figure in town walks purposefully up the steep hill, the final stretch of her 3-mile walk. She is sweating profusely despite the early hour, her seemingly solid plan of getting her workout done before the heat…
Apple Watch
At the coffeehouse I frequent, a woman asked me to watch her MacBook while she went to the restroom. She had set her things up at a table across the room from where I sat and I could barely see her things. I would, however, be able to make out someone…
Habitat Because Of Humanity
As my husband helped three men and three women tear down old and build new outside aviaries at the rescue from where we adopted Piper, our parrot, I stayed out of the way. There were a lot of moving parts and an equal amount on the ground, I didn’t want to…
BRR-P
“I hope that I live long enough to be cold in an air-conditioned restaurant.” — Sister Rain (aka Sweaty Betty)
Friendly As A Clam
In the 20 years that we have been close friends we had never gone on a trip together, but a weekend getaway remedied that. It was a chance for us to talk uninterrupted by the needs of husbands, children, feathered and furry kids, work and household management responsibilities. The two decades…
Reflection At The Intersection
When I walk near my home for exercise, I round the corner at a busy intersection. There are always cars stopped at the traffic light and the sidewalk is so close to the road that I could high-five a passenger if their window was down. I head for home after…
I Shouldn’t Have Had That Second Diet Coke
There’s full and then there’s leaving the restaurant, getting in the car, reaching down to unbutton and unzip your jeans so you can breathe, only to realize you are wearing pull-on, stretchy pants.
Change Of Place
As I sat for several hours waiting to see a doctor, I thought about how a place can change your life. You go in as one person and you leave as another. A line of demarcation that once crossed, you will not ever be the same again. This is never…
Hocus Focus
Our next-door neighbors had several parties last weekend and as I walked by an upstairs window, I could somewhat make out quite a few items strewn across their backyard lawn. I can’t see well enough to discern what it all was so I grabbed a pair of binoculars we keep…
Skinny Cheese
At one of the companies I worked at for a dozen years, there was a cafeteria with daily hot meals, soup, salad bar and made-to-order sandwiches. It’s been years since I thought of it but recently I remembered my favorite lunch there, a skinny cheese sandwich. It consisted of two…
What’s Your Authenticated Passion?
As documented on this site many times, I love me some American history. I am fortunate to live near Philadelphia and visited often as a child. It is where my grandparents lived their entire lives and my mom was born and raised there. The people and places that birthed this…
I See His True Colors
One of the things that can make me sad is the fact that I can’t see Piper’s beautiful colors. He is our peach-fronted conure, which is a type of parrot, and we adopted him from a rescue a mere three months before I woke up blind. I don’t really think…
Die Hard With A Logo
There are diehards and then there is my husband. He is a man of loyalty, conviction and commitment. And a girl’s just lucky to come in second.
My Whole Universe Was In A Dark, Dense State
One of my favorite shows of all time, The Big Bang Theory, aired its final episode last week. My husband and I have watched the show since it first aired in 2007. We, of course, are not alone but there is a very special place in my heart for this…
Not Even An Arnold Palmer
“They say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But what if you don’t like lemonade?” — Sister Rain
Love’s A Beach
If you’ve ever stood on a beach looking at the ocean, listening to its waves pound and roar, you have no doubt experienced the feeling of smallness in the grand scheme of time and the universe. As I did just that recently, I was overcome by the sensation of the…
The I Don’t Before The I Do
“The drama that a bride can experience when it comes to choosing her bridesmaids’ dresses is the perfect preparation for marriage. She learns to compromise, pick her battles and when necessary, throw a hissy fit.” — Sister Rain
Repeat Every Year
You have your own birthday on your iPhone calendar because: a) you are organized b) you are a narcissistic c) you are forgetful d) you think of your birthday the same way you think of your yearly mammogram and GYN appointment
Lost And Found In The Washing Machine
An electrician came to my house to fix my washing machine, and as my husband walked him to the door after the work was done, the gentleman noticed Piper, our parrot. He asked to take a closer look at the feathered Lord of the Manor, telling us his grandmother had…
Tasteful Dreams
Hopefully you have some wonderful dreams, both those that appear seemingly out of nowhere in the dark of night and those you consciously create in your waking hours. Many of our dreams will remain just that, thoughts that we conjure up from time to time to take ourselves out of our…
Somebody Out There Wants To Preen You. Let Them.
Piper is molting. It’s the time of year when he loses old feathers and new ones come in. When he sheds a feather, it doesn’t hurt him. It’s similar to when our hair falls out. The incoming features are a different story. They don’t cause him pain but it can…
Handheld Devices
As I entered the Apple store, I expected my iPhone to light up and start vibrating. I had this vision of all the devices there welcoming my 6+ back to the Mother Ship, communicating with it a la the Furbies of the late 90’s. All was silent though and as I…
Spring In My Steps
I hate working out. Hate it. I don’t derive the euphoria that you hear about, but I do it 5-6 days a week because I know it’s good for me physically. As I mentioned in a recent post, I have been having a hard time emotionally since the beginning of…
We Were Quite A Pair
“Scuff your shoes when you go out.” You have been gone 6 years, 10 months and 0 days and although I still find it incredibly difficult to think about you for more than a few minutes, you are with me in everything I do. As soon as my new shoes…
Look At It This Way
I woke up blind without warning at 47, at the point where getting older had started to change the way I looked at life. It was a double-whammy of sorts but in retrospect, what better time to have your world turned upside down than when you have just begun to…
Self Serve
If you could easily obtain one of the following, which would you choose? Which one do you need more than the others? Love Forgiveness Faith Patience Freedom Peace Strength Inspiration Understanding Confidence Healing We are all struggling with something. I certainly am. As I look over the list to consider…
My Spirit Animal
Piper went through a lot in his first six years, at one point he was part of a family with three other parrots, then surrendered to a bird rescue caring for over 200 birds. He was hatched in Florida and lived in New Jersey and New York, and these are…
Location, Location
My husband and I watch House Hunters International together and always try to guess which house the buyers will choose of the three they are shown. In a recent episode, the husband wanted the property on Mars, the wife preferring the one on Venus. My Martian and I were in…
Four Score, Seven Years And Two Great-Uncles Ago
I recently discovered that my great-great-grandfather served in the Civil War and although he was not at Gettysburg, his brother was. My two-times-great-uncle’s name is listed on a plaque affixed to the base of the Pennsylvania monument located on the Gettysburg battlefield, along with his regiment and all the men…
Shelf Life
“If you are an avid reader, each book on your shelf is a chapter in your biography. And what better way to show the word who you are?” — Sister Rain
Knock! Knock! Who’s There? CPR. CPR Who?
“Morning’s bad, nighttime’s worse It’s usually front, not back. An unexpected knock on either door always gives me a heart attack.” — Sister Rain
I Fell For Good
Ladies, have you ever had a tender spot for a guy your parents would hate, a rule breaker, perhaps wearing a leather jacket, smoking a cig, hair greased back, riding a motorcycle? I entered the dating world in the 80’s but obviously I’ve seen Grease one too many times. Whatever…
Ride Or Die
“While it’s true there are things you never forget how to do, learning how to do them in a whole new way can be daunting and exhausting. But once you figure it out, the freedom and feeling of the wind in your hair is worth it.” —- Sister Rain
Not Left To My Old Devices
For as long as there’s been daily life technology, computers and other devices, every software update can make you feel like you’re learning a new language when only hours before you were fluent. And getting a new cell phone or tablet, the transfer of power, and let’s make no mistake about…
Comparitively Ceasing
“When we stop comparing ourselves to yesterday, the possibilities for today are endless.” — Sister Rain
I Snore Because I Can’t Breathe
“If I have to be studied, I’d rather it be while I’m sleeping than while I’m awake.” —- Sister Rain
It’s Bin Too Long, Mom
My best friend and I each spent Sunday with our moms, she hosting a surprise 80th birthday party, me going through the bin of things I kept when mine passed away six years ago at the age of 79. When I had to quickly clear out her things from her home…
Party Of Me
We’ve all heard the question: If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be? I was recently asked this and I had a thought: What if the three were all yourself, at different ages? The fourth person would be you at your current age and…
The Secret Life Of A Bird Mom
If you share your life with a feathered or furry soul, you’ve probably wondered what they are up to when you’re not home. Cams aren’t just for nannies anymore, so if inclined, you can easily find out. Of course I wonder, but I’ve never taken advantage of the technology. For…
Is Mind Racing Considered Cardio?
In those early hours, long before the alarm setting, in the first seconds of consciousness, thoughts bubble to the surface, reaching a boiling point more quickly than the fastest tea kettle. It’s seems that every worry, fear and task we have to accomplish the rest of our life waits for…
Pedal Power Of Deduction
As I rode the exercise bike, I looked out the window and was shocked that the neighbor’s yard was covered in snow. It was not forecasted and none of my friends had mentioned the overnight snowfall in their morning texts. A few seconds went by, then I realized that it wasn’t…
Puzzled By Faith
My in-laws were best friends with another couple, Mr. and Mrs. M, raising their families together and traveling as a foursome once their children were grown. My father-in-law died suddenly a few years ago, and last week Mrs. M passed away after a lengthy illness. Although they are both in…
It’s A Bird, It’s A Plane, It’s Sister Rain
What is the thing that you do to an intense level? Whatever it is, I’ll bet your friends and family tease you about it. In my case, my passion for organization and my ability to remember an apparently unusual amount of the last 30 years are the cause of the…
I Hugged A Bag Of Carrots
While waiting at the grocery store deli, I asked my husband how far down the produce aisle the carrots were located. It’s difficult for me to find items on a shelf due to my impaired vision, the lack of clarity and color making locating a can or package equal to…
Design Style: Smile
“When it comes to decorating your home, if it brings you joy every time you look at it, it is ALWAYS the right choice.” — Sister Rain *** Whale Tissue Box Cover available here
He Saw Right Through Me
At the orthopedist’s office, I first met with an athletic trainer who was spending a few weeks there for the purpose of his continuing education. We discussed the issue I was having in both shoulders and reviewed prior bone and their accessories’ problems I’ve had in the past. As I…
Where Everybody Knows My Name . . . Or My Beverage
pI was born and raised in a smallish town, 40 miles outside of Philadelphia. Everyone else who shares my DNA is from that city, I am the only country acorn in the family tree. Although my mom lived more than half of her life in the ‘burbs, she never stopped…
MARCHOO!
For me, this week brought March and a cold, one the lion and one causing me to lie down, proving once again that two roars don’t make a right.
It’s My Latte And I’ll Gulp It If I Want To
As I’ve shared with you many times, my husband and I are opposites in how we look at things, think about and approach them. One of the lighter differences is the way we drink our coffee. I like mine extra hot, as soon as it turns warm, it’s too cold…
Help: A Touchy Subject
I went to pick up a purse I ordered online at a mall department store and when I arrived at the courtesy desk, I pulled up the email that had alerted me the handbag was ready. I had a heck of a time locating the bar code within the message and…
It’s Sunday Somewhere
It’s fascinating to me how one area of the country can be experiencing a snowstorm or other severe weather conditions, while other states have clear radar and clear skies. My wondrous interest can be directly connected to my lack of scientific knowledge, despite The Weather Channel being the background noise…
Scaredy Cat, Healthy Bird
Fear. A four-letter word if I ever saw one. Yes, even a blind girl sees fear. For all of us, fear lies beneath the surface, waiting for the moment it can make its violent attack and grab us with its pointy, unforgiving teeth, shake us until we don’t know which…
Happy Birthday, POTUS1
I have never held up a lighter at his concert. I have never cheered him on in the bottom of the 9th. I have never celebrated his Super Bowl win. But I cannot tell a lie: Wearing this t-shirt, purchased recently at Mount Vernon, really floats my boat . ….
A Sweet Heart
Last Friday, while at lunch with my friend, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to find an elderly gentleman at the table behind me handing me something as he said, “Happy Valentine’s Day”. We were close enough that I could tell that he was probably in his…
ART-Important-FACT
“Art is hard. But it’s important.” —- reply by a Michael’s framing associate to a customer’s apology for taking a long time to choose a frame. Have you ever agonized over how to perfectly present a photo or other image in your home? I’ll bet you have, me too! Art…
Closed Is The Opposite Of Open
“When you shut down, board the windows and lock the door, you prevent others from exploring, enjoying and learning about and from you. And chances are they’ve travelled a long way through all sorts of weather to do just that.” —- Sister Rain World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock Sugarcreek, Ohio November 2018: Closed for…
Random Acts Of Customer Service
Walmart is a black or white place. Before you call the NAACP, what I mean is that you either love Walmart or you hate it. My husband and I love the prices and do the bulk of our grocery shopping there each week. Never my favorite chore, since my vision…
Visitor Marking
As I got ready one morning to tour a manufacturing facility with my friend (see Craftmanufacturingship), I thought about what the experience would be like. I’ve always been a planner, but since losing my vision I find I’ve taken it to a whole other level. I’m always thinking ahead in…
Coffee, We, Eternity
If Heaven does exist, it will have a coffeehouse, where my dear friend and I will go together to work and laugh. There’s no such thing as too much coffee or time spent with friends. Even in eternity.
Compactful Disc
Today is February 1st and Santa has a deep, dark tan by now. We keep our tree and decorations up until about this time each year, enjoying them as winter truly takes hold and the stress of the season has left us and our wallets. As I put the holiday…
Getting To The Bottom Of It
Since I lost my vision, paperwork I would have filed has accumulated in a box. Not paid bills or medical documents or anything important, those were put away by my husband. I’m talking about receipts for large purchases, owner’s manuals, all the printed material we keep for reference or proof…
Mount Possible
“Your future can seem insurmountable. Until you stop and recognize that you’ve already done the impossible.“ —- Sister Rain
#adoptedhimwentblindsavedme
“Don’t sweat the small stuff. Love it. Appreciate it. If it weren’t for the small stuff, the big stuff would not be possible.” —- Sister Rain
What’s The Over-Under On Competence?
Would you rather be acknowledged for your “usual competence” or your “unusual competence”? The former, of course, right? It’s great when your abilities have a good reputation. The latter is just plain insulting. Exploring this a little further, though, with some sort of competence (hopefully), would you rather be underestimated…
Bricks And Stones May Have Made My Home But We Are All The Same
One of the most difficult of many, many things to wrap my head around on September 11th was the fact that the Towers had people in them. Of course I know there were people in those buildings. I just could not conceive of the amount of people on each floor,…
An Rx With No Adverse Side Effects
“Words can hurt. But they can also heal. Let’s all play doctor more often and be sure to practice on ourselves.“ —- Sister Rain
May All Our Games Go Into Overtime
While at the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in Canton, Ohio, my husband, nephew and I entered a theater to experience their A Game For Life exhibit. With holographic images and 360-degree sound, we learned how great the odds are to make the Hall of Fame, direct from football legends themselves. It quickly became…
Thinking Outside The Bird Box
“A hoodie keeps daddy’s head warm and is a fun place for Piper to perch. Sometimes you’ve got to use what you have in new and creative ways.” —- Sister Rain
Craftmanufacturingship
It has been awhile since I’ve toured a manufacturing facility. During my corporate career I’d spent a considerable amount of time on a production floor, my marketing positions requiring trips out into “the plant”. I was a tour guide at one company, showing visitors the process of making ceramic tile. This…
Oblogation
“The people we remember for doing great things are those who feel obligated to share their ideas and inventions. Could success be as easily explained as that?” —- Sister Rain
Destination: The Journey
Over the holiday I spoke with a man who is enrolled in a master’s program and he told me that it will be five and a half years until he graduates. “You do it to learn, not to finish,” he explained. We’ve all heard the expression, “It’s all about the journey,…
All Aboard 2019
Sitting in a doctor’s office waiting room, I paged through a magazine more out of habit than the ability to see to read it. A large, bold title, “Death By Yogurt” caught my eye and I showed it to my husband, joking that this was obviously an issue for the…
A New Year For An Old Married Couple
This morning, I woke up to light after what seemed like a lifetime of darkness. I couldn’t believe it, it must be a dream. Everything looked different and I felt like my life was starting anew, way beyond the day 2 of a new year. My limitations were gone, my…
Elf Yourself
It’s not original content but I couldn’t help myself. By what name would I call you If you were indeed an elf? —- Candy PeppermintBuns
Handling It
Life goes on. It’s the only thing I know for sure. You leave the hospital after holding your dad’s hand as he took his last breath and people you pass on the road have just picked up a pizza for dinner or are on their way to meet friends to celebrate…
New Car Optional. New Route Required.
While test driving a potential new vehicle, the salesman, seated in the back, explained that we would be taking the approved test drive route and directed my husband accordingly. Varied enough to get a feel for how the automobile handles in different situations, we got a little hill and highway,…
‘Tis The Reason
This time of year is . . . A lot of things. Well, it’s supposed to be anyway. For spending time with people you care about. For giving. For counting the blessings of a year almost over. For looking forward to a clean slate, a new twelve months full of promise….
Arthritic Digits
I hope I’ll still have my very own teeth And be the very same husband’s wife But the one thing I wonder more than the rest: Will my cell number be with me for life? —- Sister Rain
Put Your Big Girl Sneakers On
Grousing about how difficult returning to my daily neighborhood walks has been after a foot injury sidelined me for a few months, my husband suggested I take this particular day off and go the next since I had gone the day before. “The only way it gets easier is to…
Tree To Be Me
What types of ornaments do you put on your tree? Elegant glass globes of red and gold? Balls in all the holiday colors? Maybe you have inherited your family’s heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation. Perhaps there is a theme: the Peanuts gang, beautifully feathered birds or only handmade creations….
Breaking News: Lunch Ladies
You would think I would miss my mom most when at the beach, toes in the sand, waves crashing, or when in my car where she took up residence in my passenger seat in 1981 when I got my license. But I miss her most at noon during the week when…
InDentured To Change
“Your life can change in an instant without warning. You brush your teeth for fifty years, then one morning, toothpaste makes you gag.” —- Sister Rain
A Purposeful Rescue
This little guy was my only purpose when I got out of the hospital six years ago, finding myself blind without warning. Driving, my career, my ability to do just about everything as I always did was gone. Three months into his adoption from a bird rescue, Piper needed a full-time…
Today I Am Full
Today is six years since I woke up blind. Today is one year since I flew to Germany, my return to air travel after five years. Today I celebrate the anniversary of my trip to Europe, not my fall into darkness. “It’s not always easy to see the glass half…
Take A Stand, Protect Your Gland
My intent on this site is to post original content but sometimes I am compelled to share something I’ve learned. Today is one of those days. Thyroid cancer has doubled since the 1970s according to a segment on Dr. Oz’s show; click here to read the full article. But since you’re…
Induction Cooktop Required. Serves 318.
I make my nana’s recipe for filling. She never wrote it down, of course, but I learned by watching and helping her from the time I was a little girl. The first step is setting bread out to get stale for a few days prior to the Big Day. We were…
Wondering On The Path Of Heroes
As I arrived at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on an ugly, grey-skied day, I made myself focus on who I was there to remember, who I was there to honor. Our car had been experiencing difficulties the entire four hundred mile road trip and it had just failed to…
Rebuilding A Life
“When your life is turned upside down, somehow the rest of the world remains rooted and upright. You must fight to find a way to stand tall again. And then the real work begins as you learn to see that world with new eyes.” —- Sister Rain
A Joy In The Neck
Piper, our rescue parrot, is the most independent being I have ever met. Since we adopted him six years ago, I have tried to get him to allow me to cup him in my hands and hold him to my chest as I was able to do with our first…
Never Forget To Say Thank You
Congressman-Elect and former Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw tells us what veterans still need. Instead of saying, “Thank you for your service”, he suggests we say “never forget.” “We will never forget the sacrifices made by veterans past and present, and never forget those we lost on 9/11.” The calendar shows it…
Freedom Allowers
My husband and I were watching football at a bar in New York City yesterday and I thought how much fun our nephew who is 13 would have had. Obviously, the bouncer at the door would feel differently as would the state of New York but it was such a…
Sharelence
My closest friends and I share everything, from the minutia of our day to larger issues we are facing at home or at the office. As I read articles this morning about the most recent shooting at the bar in California, I thought about the fact that we don’t really talk…
I’ve Got To Open My Mouth To See What I’m Eating
Salads. Nachos. I placed the order or made them myself, so I know the ingredients. And yet, every bite is a mystery when you can’t see what’s on your fork, unknown to me until the taste explodes on my tongue or my teeth make contact with texture. The delicious creation…
My Parrot Can Outfly Your Monkey
Friday night before 11 p.m. we had a tornado warning. I can’t remember ever receiving such an alert. There have been watches over the years, but less than twenty that I can recall in my lifetime. It was hard not to be paralyzed by fear as we made preparations to seek…
Santa Checks His List For Good And Bad Deeds, Your List Needs Cecking For Viable Leads
Starting a new professional endeavor as a realtor, a friend was given her first assignment: send one hundred mailers to her own personal contacts announcing her arrival into the real estate world. Of course, a small amount of vetting was required; she didn’t include her elderly aunt and uncle who…
A Fitting Comparison
“Getting measured for a bra is like waking up blind. It’s terrifying, shocking, carries a large degree of denial and makes you question everything you thought you knew about yourself and life.” —- Sister Rain
Blindsided
It’s fascinating to me that we are able to live our lives without something we have lost and not feel the effects every second of every day. Of course a fresh wound is a different story, it requires a long recovery before even developing a scab, followed by it being…
$150 Later, We’re Rich
Mammogram, g-y-n, dental and eye Tests and exams every year Time consuming and bothersome, always Some come with a level of fear. But nothing compares to one day each fall: Piper’s annual trip to the vet His well-check appointment is nerve-wracking to us His daddy’s and my palms start to…
Forty Is The New Spoiled Milk
I recently heard a reputable medical professional say that the human body is built to work for only 40 years. That explains why on the morning of that auspicious birthday, suddenly your knees crack, your lower back sings and you are exhausted from getting up multiple times during the night…
World Travels
”That’s the thing about travel. It makes the globe feel so big and your own world feel so small.” —- Sister Rain
Sponging Off Each Other
Cameras are everywhere these days. Everyone’s phones, traffic, web, surveillance, security and elevator cams capture our every move. Big Brother is watching . . . but so are the actual people in the footage with us. Much like a child we try so hard not to swear in front of,…
Needles To Say, I’m Falling Apart
The bottom of my foot. My thumb. Twice. My knee. The top of my foot. Twice. If cortisone shots were tattoos, I’d be the hippest visually impaired wife, bird mom, friend and blogger in all the land.
My Lamp Beside The Cherry Door
I never really loved my house. We moved in a month before we were married and it was what we could afford at the time. My husband technically lived with his parents after graduating from college the year before we met, although not long after our first date, ironically, blind,…
At Least It’s The Season Of The Undead
Someone recently told me I couldn’t possibly be legally blind because my eyes don’t look dead. I was appalled, offended and shocked. I could have used the opportunity to educate or fire back an angry retort. Instead, my undead eyes just stared at them. Even seeing the words come out…
Fakebook Friends
We post the happiest pictures on Instagram: everyone smiling, at interesting places, having a great time. We publish wonderful sentiments about people, events and occasions on Facebook. We Tweet about rainbows and unicorns in 280 characters or less. We are all loving life . . . and each other. At…
Rage, Rum Or Risen?
“I’m visually impaired and never see straight so it’s hard to know if I’m mad, drunk or awake.” —- Sister Rain
Cured
Five years ago today my husband, in his mid-forties, was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. There were discussions of a heart transplant. Eleven months prior, I woke up without my sight. A little cane back, not much, and I miss it every day. This morning my healthy husband lays sleeping…
Card Stock
We are redoing our home office so I have been cleaning out the old to make way for the new. I spent some time this morning going through some papers using my Merlin electronic magnifyer, including the cards I received when my mom died. The plan was to keep just a…
When It All Just Fitz
My husband’s beloved Seattle Seahawks played the Arizona Cardinals yesterday. As we watched the game all I kept thinking about was the relationship between the Cardinals’ Larry Fitzgerald and the recently passed Senator John McCain. Dear husband, I was, of course, intensely focused on the game as well. In case you don’t…
Sew Right
“When you know with every fiber of your being that you’re doing the right thing, don’t let anyone unravel you until you are left threadbare and wrong.” —- Sister Rain
Betwixt Is A Treat
We all spend time “between”: between jobs, relationships, meals, hair appointments, books, and the dreaded rock and a hard place, to name a few. These instances are at once before and after, so different from everything else in our life that is either one or the other. There is a guarantee…
Fall Ball
“When the score is 27-1, not in your favor, there is plenty of time for introspection.” — Sister Rain
Fill ‘Er Up
This is what it looks like before the blog is written. White. Empty. Daunting. I usually don’t even log on until I am ready to put finger to keyboard because staring at a blank space waiting for my creativity to happen is depressing and frustrating, causing my head to fill…
He’s Got Birdy Davis Eyes
What is it about the eyes of our feathered and furried friends? They seem to hold the secrets of the universe, old souls with wisdom we humans can’t begin to comprehend. Moments before this picture was taken, Piper was throwing his toys off the table then squawking until his mommy…
Sister Rain On Rain
“The rain came. It came down hard. I had no choice but to close the windows.” —- Sister Rain
Dancing With Myself
The new cast of Dancing with the Stars has been announced. Don’t know the difference between a paso doble and Viennese waltz? No problem. Stay with me anyway. One of the contestants this season is Danelle Umstead, an alpine skier. I became familiar with Danelle when I was riveted to…
Kindly Read This Post
“It is through the kindness shown to us by others that we can learn to be kind to ourself.” —- Sister Rain
One Degree Of What The???
I had this dream on Saturday morning. I don’t blame you if you stop coming around after this. I’m thinking of avoiding this site myself! ************************** I meet a friend’s girlfriend at our local library. At this point in the dream I can drive but it comes out later I’m…
The Margaritas Weren’t The Only Thing That Was Frozen
I recently got together with an old colleague I had not seen in over fifteen years. She was aware of my vision loss as she’s in touch with a mutual friend. We had a great time catching up and at the end of the night, in her ultra-direct manner, she…
Blue Romance
Choosing a paint color can be tricky for anyone. Not all of us have the designer gene, but if we are lucky, we know what we like, how we want our home to represent us and what brings us joy. My husband is color blind and I don’t really see…
Labor Day Of Love
Piper It is as if my heart has left my body and is now encased in mischief, gentleness and feathers. And where it once beat inside me, there is a cavern that expands and contracts with love. — Sister Rain
Is That Lucky Charms In Your Pocket Or Are You Just Having Breakfast?
I am reading a book and its main character, a woman in her thirties, often flashes back to her teen years. During those remembrances, she speaks of a good luck charm she always carried with her, the chamois bag that held it safety pinned inside her pants. At night, it…
Leave It To The Beavers
If your next-door neighbors cut down three trees at 7 a.m. do you hear it? Dam right you do.
A Contact Hi
While cleaning out the bathroom closet, I came across a box that I instantly recognized. It held a few pairs of contacts, the last of their kind that I had never gotten to wear once my sight became impaired. They had a long expiration date on them at the time,…
She’s A Pill
When Your Mommy Is Sister Rain OUTTAKES FROM THE PHOTO SHOOT Sometimes you have to bribe the talent with a treat inside one of the props!
Would You Pass On The Past?
I was talking with someone the other day who is dealing with a new loss. They told me they had read somewhere to ask yourself the following question to help put things into perspective. I will use my mom’s death and my vision loss to demonstrate: If I knew I…
What Would You Attempt If You Knew You Would Fail?
My nephew qualified for the next round of a home run hitting contest and my husband and I went to cheer him on. He’s a good ball player but he is not ever going to be the next Hank Aaron. He knows it, his parents know it, his biggest fans,…
Fortunate Son
Upon finding out that I have a bird, the first thing people ask is, “Does he talk?” This always bothers me because there is so much more to Piper and his brethren in feathers than their being able to speak our language. After receiving this fortune in my cookie, my standard response…
Write Brain, Left Brain
Although no longer in corporate America, many of the behaviors I employed during that chapter of my life are still a part of my daily routine. Truth be told, they have been with me since childhood: to-do lists, self-imposed deadlines, planning and organizing. What I have found, however, is that…
Clue: She’s Not As Smart As She Thinks She Is
Answer: Who is Sister Rain? My gifted gift-giver friend gave me an Echo last Christmas. She also sells seashells by the seashore. Alexa has become a great addition to the family. I have yet to explore all her many features but I use her for common requests on a daily…
A Waist Of Time
“Sometimes when I’m home I realize I haven’t pulled my yoga pants up all the way to my waist and I wonder, Am I that lazy? Have I completely given up? And then I assure myself those questions are ridiculous. After all, I AM wearing pants.” — Sister Rain
Kelly Clarkson And I Dream In Color. So Can You.
My visual impairment causes the world to appear muted and dim, lacking in detail and color. My memories, as well as my dreams, however, are bright and clear. Both the internal slideshow of my past and my nocturnal images are vivid and crisp and it’s always a surprise to me…
A Bird In The Handbag
Like all me, Piper is fascinated by the wonders of the contents of a woman’s purse.
Knock, Knock. “Who’s There?” “Boo!” “Come On In.”
“If I had to choose between the past coming back to haunt me and a ghost, the ghost wins. Every time.” —- Sister Rain
Match.Conure
These days, most of our matches are made via the Internet. From home decor to clothes to jobs, travel locations to restaurants, blogs to people, you enter your criteria and with a light press of one key, you are presented with a selection of possibilities to meet your needs. Although…
Jump Starting The Week
I am tired and overwhelmed at the start of this week and trying very hard to assure myself this means there is nowhere to go but up. It was a busy weekend with the normal errands and chores, plus home improvement projects long overdue. We also needed a new car…
I’ve Got The Bathroom Blues In The Very Best Way
We have been sprucing up some rooms in our house. It’s all cosmetic work as the only thing my husband and I have ever “contracted” is along the lines of congestive heart failure and visual impairment, respectively. The bathroom was the first to be completed and I could not be more…
It Dozen Make Sense
Somebirdy in this family was hatched from a shell And it wasn’t his mom or his dad So why are they the ones sleeping On an egg carton mattress pad?
An Author-ized Blography
Friends are with us through all the genres of our biographies: mystery, romance, drama, satire, action and adventure, health, travel, horror, children, history, comics, cooking and fantasy. I share all subject matter with several fantastic women, all major characters, both literaturely and figuratively, in my non-fictional life. There are also…
What’s Your Everest?
As he reached the summit of Mt. Sofa, Piper couldn’t believe how easy the climb had been. He had never scaled the black behemoth before but had been studying it for six years. He had been hesitant to take the first step, not sure where to start or if he…
A Monumental Sight
We recently purchased this canvas print of Monument Valley, Utah, a destination stop on the last vacation my husband and I took six weeks before my vision became impaired. It is a beautiful piece of art and represents so much. Travel is the last holdout in my healing process; I still…
When Life Hands You A Sharpie
“This too shall pass” is a common truism offered when going through a difficult time, both to others and to ourselves. It really does apply to most situations, though when in the thick of it your heart wins over your head every time. If we can somehow hold on to…
I Have Always Talked With My Hands
How many people do you talk to on a weekday morning? Ten? Twenty? On a typical day, my number is 1.5. That’s one and a half, not fifteen. And you’d think the half is my parrot, Piper, when it’s really my husband, who is not much for chitchat before he…
Weathering Life
“Whoever coined the phrase ‘Don’t sweat the small stuff’ never had to blow dry their hair in an unairconditioned bathroom in 100% humidity.” —- Sister Rain
Sorrowity
I was a Girl Scout when I was a young girl. I remember coming home from elementary school and telling my mom I wanted to join my friends on Monday nights in the basement of the Lutheran Church in town, learning campfire songs I still know to this day and…
Future Vibrant See
“Although my present shows itself to me in static, disconnected dots, so muted that color cannot get in, the dreams for my future are more vivid than they ever were when I was fully-sighted.“ —- Sister Rain
My Conuretutional Rights
“I am second-generation American, my grandparents from South and Central America. I was hatched in Florida and moved to New York where I was surrendered to a bird rescue in New Jersey by a family who could no longer afford to keep me. After two years, I was adopted by my…
’Tis The Season Of Manicures And Pedicures
As I walk my neighborhood on Monday morning, I see no one nor houses where it looks like anyone is home. What I do see, even with my limited vision, are bags set out by the curb for trash pick up, full of lawn clippings, branches and weeds. The manicured…
It Looks Like A “C” But It’s An A+
It brings me joy to find the right gift for the special people in my life. Anything I come by, though, is no match for the happiness they bring me every day. There is one special someone in my life whose use of the things I’ve chosen on their behalf makes…
Who Doesn’t Love A Gift Card?
We are supposed to live in the present. Being stuck in the past isn’t healthy or what life is about and nothing about tomorrow is guaranteed. All we have is this moment. But what if you are creating something that will be your future, a passionate endeavor that requires a lot…
They Don’t Buy It
People’s reactions to my informing them that I am visually impaired has been one of the greatest surprises of my life. You cannot tell by looking at me: I am able to enact eye contact fairly well, I walk unassisted unless in difficult terrain and my eyes move the way…
Don’t Wait For A Pull-Tab. Use An Opener.
I’ve always been a tomboy, my older-by-eight-years brother’s hand-me-down toys some of my favorites. G.I. Joe went on as many, if not more, adventures than Malibu Barbie and Suntan Ken did. Surprisingly, though, I never went fishing, as many of the kids I grew up with did and seems the…
Polygatech
“I knew we had crossed a line when my husband started referring to me, Alexa and Siri as his sister wives.” — Sister Rain
Overnight Stay, Forever Friends
Amy C. My first overnight at a friend’s house that couldn’t be seen from my own. It was 7th grade, my first year in junior high, when your world explodes beyond the fifty kids you’ve known since kindergarten. I don’t recall what her mom made us for dinner but I…
Papa Perch
“There is so much more to being a dad than DNA. Including being a safe place to land.” HAPPY FATHER,S DAY!!! —- Piper
Menage A Pillow
Recently I’ve heard about a lot of couples sleeping in separate beds for the sole purpose of them both getting a good night’s sleep. Personally, I think it’s not a bad idea and it hasn’t been implemented here primarily because we don’t have another bed and the futon in our…
Either Way, Amen*
When I meet someone going through a rough time, or a person in my life is struggling, I want to help by offering some of the things I have learned since the within-five-months’ losses of my mom and my vision. But lately I have begun to worry: When does passionate…
The Burger
I had been in the hospital two days when the decision to operate came quickly on a Friday night. I had not yet eaten dinner and lunch had been about six hours earlier. The skin abscess was not improving and the staph infection was so desperate to leave my body…
Would You Rather Read A Short Book With Long Chapters Or A Long Book With Short Chapters?
As much as I love to read, I have begun to obsess about long chapters. I don’t like them. And I don’t know why. Reading, to me, is both the desire to never have the story end, to not lose the characters you have invested time and interest in, and also…
Wound Care
“It’s not the actual wound that’s the challenge. It’s the healing.” — Sister Rain
DMV (Damn My Vision)
It is the most common form of identification, accepted everywhere and other than our phones, the item we are sure to always have with us. It proves to the world that we are who we say we are and represents freedom and independence as it serves as the legal document…
Harry & Meghan: “I Will.” Sister Rain: IV.
I had been so looking forward to the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, planning a morning in bed with my iPad and coffee. But three days before the royal nuptials, I was admitted into the hospital with a serious infection. And on the evening before the Big Day,…
Monday Hurts. Mon-Do Feels Good.
I spent the night in pain with a new injury, feeling knife stabs every time I rolled over. This morning I woke up really angry about it, and tired, manifesting in an I don’t give a crap about anything attitude. I have written something other than this blog and connected with a…
Feliz Dia De La Madre, Madre
During my senior year in high school I got on a plane for the first time, destination: Spain. Thirty years later, I vividly remember sitting at the kitchen table doing homework while my mom made dinner and mentioning to her that the trip had just been announced. I had no…
Hot Hot Not
Pushing the cart through Walmart last Friday night, hearing the song “Hot Hot Hot” playing throughout the store, I was transported back to the deck of a cruise ship. My husband and I went on four voyages with friends in our twenties and thirties and the disparity of where I was now…
OG Bday
“Just because the original has us naked, crying, eating non-stop, going to the bathroom on ourselves, throwing up, looking like we spent way too much time in the bathtub and not remembering a minute of it doesn’t mean we should spend the rest of our birthdays in the same way.”…
If Only Bounce Sheets Came In 5’2″
“Life has a way of tossing you around like clothes in a dryer. But unlike my clean apparel, I never come out of it unwrinkled . . . or smelling better than when I went in.” — Sister Rain
I Never Met A Tracking Number I Didn’t Like
Do you love tracking packages? I do and I am obsessive about it. Once I get notification that an item has shipped I begin compulsively checking its progress. And once I see “Out For Delivery”, efforts are ramped up despite the fact that all I have to do is look…
I’m A Bird Person, Doggone It!
I have been sharing my story and business plans with more and more people as I network and seek their expertise. And every single one of them has asked me why I don’t have a guide dog. I love animals and it is true I am eligible for a service…
The Only Recipe That Comes Out Perfectly Every Time: Disaster
I never understand when people say they can’t cook. Climbing high atop my kitchen step stool, rolling pin held high over my head for emphasis, I proclaim, “If you can read you can cook!” Oh, how the soufflés have fallen of late! A few recent first time tries turned into…
Gratefully Full Of It
“The crippling sadness of letting go of the past is but a mere twinge compared to the paralyzing fear of what will take its place in the future. Do not give up. And one day you will find yourself standing fully in the present, full of nothing but gratitude.” —…
Netwinging
When you have a goal they say you should share it with people so that they can support you and hold you accountable when your own responsibility meter goes on the fritz. But once you put your plans out into the world, into the ears of others, things can get…
Unforeseen Reception
I’ve just finished all my annual check-ups and testing, a dozen check-ins at doctor’s offices and outpatient centers. I have been really surprised and disappointed by the receptionists’ reactions when they hand me a clipboard holding paperwork to be filled out and I inform them that I am legally blind and…
Can A Scarecrow Have Hay Fever?
“I am one brain MRI away from finding out if my mother was, in fact, a bale of straw.” — Sister Rain
The Brush Off
Not long after I found myself with little vision I purchased some wooden letters from a store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They were the first name initials of my husband, our parrot, Piper, and our first bird, Cato, who was with us for fifteen years, and myself. My friend helped me…
Piper-eminder
Sometimes Piper reminds me of a guy in a bird suit. Sometimes Piper reminds me of a great bald eagle. Always Piper reminds me that when love comes and sits on your shoulder, you stop what you’re doing, you acknowledge it and you are grateful. You have no idea how long…
Spring Training Wheels
It’s difficult to know when you should stop preparing and when you should just jump in. Due diligence is always wise but sometimes the research and learning can go on and on and there seems to be new information around every corner, leading to even more questions. Is this really…
The Coffee Isn’t Half & Half Bad Either
I decided to start my week by going to a local coffee house so I would have dedicated time to write and not be distracted by never-ending household chores. Fueled by a cappuccino and a warm blueberry muffin I jumped right into my work, subconsciously enjoying the unique sound of…
Either Way It’s A Circus
“My blog is a dot-net yet its content is my life without one.” — Sister Rain
The Legally Blind Cleaning The Blinds
Even though it snowed on Monday, I have started my spring cleaning, beginning with our window blinds. We have a total of four in the house and that is four too many. I use a cleaning rag and soapy water and wipe each slat, feeling my way from one end to…
Hope Floats. I Do Not.
“Hope came in and my world shifted on its axis. I cannot allow her to seduce me. And yet I begged her to stay.” — Sister Rain
Snow Fall
I fell Monday night. I got up. This morning I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t have. Everything hurts and my knee is more colorful than the most beautiful rainbow I can no longer see. Which is how I fell. There wasn’t actually a rainbow but a small pile of snow. Which…
Holding A Stranger’s Heart Makes Them A Stranger No More
I was given this heart by my therapist. A number of them had been left in her waiting room and knowing I couldn’t see them there, she had chosen this one for me. The organization responsible for these hearts is The Peyton Heart Project, The name on mine is Sean Michael…
There’s No Trust Without Us
Trust. We have less of it these days and with good reason. Dangers have increased and we are much more aware of them then ever before. It’s necessary to be cautious but it’s incredibly sad that it has come to this. I remember an innocent time when we played with…
Four Storms And Four Ordeals Ago
We are in the throes of our fourth nor’easter and I had this thought: just because you’ve weathered one storm doesn’t make the next one any easier. Yesterday I received the results of a skin biopsy I had done last Thursday. The four days between the test and the outcome…
Piper Mondays . . .
. . . are for hiding under the covers. (Look closely and you’ll see bird feet and a beak!) For Piper Fridays, click here.
Piper Fridays . . .
. . . feel as good as scratching an itch. For Piper Mondays, click here.
A Sign He Is A Wonderful Young Man
My nephew gave me this sign after he saw it while he was out shopping with my mother-in-law. When I opened the package, I was a bit confused. I knew he chose it for its literal meaning but I didn’t know why. But he reminded me that during our trip…
You Gotta Do You. And For Me That’s Blue.
Several rooms in our house need painting. Badly. Neither my husband nor I have any experience in this DIY realm and have decided to start small with our bathroom. A tan color will go on the walls to match the existing tile and flooring and a green on the trim…
2018 Paralympics
Don’t watch to be inspired. Watch for the elite athletes. Watch for the competition at the highest level. Don’t watch to be inspired. But you will see it everywhere.
A Statement About A Blanket
As children, a doll, a stuffed animal or imaginary friend provided us security and constant companionship as we braved the dark and the monster under the bed. As adults, we give up the emotional support tokens of our youth in preparation for becoming the comforter instead of the comfortee. I…
Crisis: Diverted
Due to the winter storm we had last Friday, my friend was unable to fly home to Philadelphia from the Caribbean. The plane departed the tropical locale on time, only to be diverted to Miami somewhere east of North Carolina. She finally arrived home last night. During those unexpected 48…
Piper: A Load Of Fun
Piper, in direct opposition to his mom, loves the laundry bag. He gets so excited when he sees it. He always wants to sit on its side and has tolerated me setting him in on the top of the clean wash. He goes crazy with excitement when I dump the…
We All Have Our Limits
Some people believe there are no such thing as limits, others that there are limits but they can be pushed through and past. And there are those who believe in and allow limits to keep them stuck. I have been wondering about the fine line between empowering ourselves and knowing…
If You Were My Friend, I’d Bring YounA Pint Of Breathe
A dear friend recently experienced a devastating personal blow which initially ravaged her emotionally and mentally. Because of that, even the most mundane daily activities were almost impossible. I hope that you’ve never been in this situation but if you have you know exactly what I mean. Brushing your teeth…
Birds And Their Feathers Stick Together
I grow attached to my feathers, When they are attached to me, And when they molt* from my body, A hard habit to break it can be. It’s strange to be holding my feather, I’s not where it’s meant to belong, But I find myself preening it anyway, It’s nature…
Backup A Darn Minute
“Backup” has become such a part of our world that we take it for granted. I first learned in 1988 the importance of backing up during a stressful marketing budget planning crunch at work, aided by my first computer, a Leading Edge. Thirty years later you would think it would…
Do These Pants Make My Butt Look A**-Backwards?
Last week was an especially trying week with the only thing going right was that everything went wrong. Even the weekend was plagued by incidents. This morning, feeling heavy-hearted and stomach-sick over the disappearance of this blog last week as a result of an update, I got dressed. As I…
Hospital Realization
I go by our local hospital often and I always make sure I look towards it and think about the people inside. I was born in this hospital, have had several surgeries in its operating rooms, visited the emergency room for several minerare (minor to moderate) something-suddenly-came-ups. But is has…
Keeping Each Other Grounded
I asked my husband for a plug adapter for the space heater I sometimes use in the bathroom and requested that he put it on my iPad which was charging on the dining room table. Hours later, I looked for the adapter on the table but it wasn’t there. Neither…
Capitalism
I have always capitalized the names of my contacts when entering them into my phone, starting with my first device back in the mid 90s. This has served me well since my vision loss when bigger and bolder is better for me to see with, my dear. But any time I…
Throwing Out The First Pitch: Rhett Butler
I recently dreamt that I was throwing out the first pitch at a Major League Baseball game. And I was scared to death. Although I had impaired vision and couldn’t see the catcher, that wasn’t what terrified me. The fact that I had no idea what I was doing and…
Getting Stoned
“If my younger tomboy self, playing in the empty neighborhood lot with her friends, knew that forty-five years later she would be paying over $100 to have hot stones rubbed on her, she would have told the biggest kid in the group to throw stones at her.” — Sister Rain
I’ve Done More Laps Than A Linen Napkin In A 5-Star Restaurant
My husband and I took our nephew to drive go carts at an indoor track. It was the younger of the two’s first time and he did great, beating his uncle’s time and leaving him in his dust twice. I LOVED to drive before my vision went on a one-way trip…
Who In The Hell Is Roto Rooter?
Do you have an old address book lying around somewhere? Perhaps it’s with your landline telephone, kept only because it’s cheaper to bundle it with your internet and TV cable than to do away with it, even though you never use it. I had to dust off my relic “Contacts”…
An Elementary Lesson
Trying to beat the impending snow, I headed out for my daily walk earlier than usual, as cars and school busses made their own morning treks. Bundled up like the Unabomber, constantly blowing my ever-running nose, eyes trained down on a sidewalk I can barely see, I found myself at…
Me N U
On a rare night out for dinner, my husband and I found a place to sit in the restaurant’s lobby while we waited for a table. My husband reached towards the ottoman across from us and handed me a menu. He handed me a menu. To look at. I can’t…
A Kernel Of Progress
Piper is a good eater but only when it comes to his birdie food: his blends of dried fruits and nuts and his oh so important pellets which provide him with critical nutrients. Since the day we brought him home from the rescue I chopped up fresh greens and made…
I’m Sure There’s More
“I’m not sure how much more I can take but I’m sure I’m going to find out.” — Sister Rain
This Blog Is Mine Passion
Writing this blog, I am constantly on the hunt for material. Sometimes it’s an obvious idea but in other instances I find myself mining for a nugget hidden deep, waiting for discovery. I never stop searching and my husband and friends often recognize a viable gem when we are together…
We Can Duo It
After a difficult challenge my friend and I were discussing the next tough task coming our way. “We did what we did. We can do it.”, she said. That’s the great thing about accomplishments. They give you the strength and confidence to take on the next thing life throws at you….
This Post Is A Matter Of Life And Death
What we believe about death shapes how we live our life. Whether we believe that when it’s over it’s over, that we will reunite with our loved ones for eternity or be reincarnated heavily influences our conduct and decisions every day. But does what we think about life have this…
The Downside Of Updates
Over the past week, I have had disastrous results after updating two different applications. As my friend J will quote me, “I love me some technology” comes out of my mouth and fingers often. I always have been a fan and the accessibility and connection to the world that my devices provide…
On A Snowy Morning: Clarity
From Instagram of Carrie Green, Founder of the Female Entrepreneur Association, @iamcarriegreen.
You’re So Happy I Could Cry
“I’m so happy for you!” We always want the best for people, never more so than those we love. I am so fortunate to have great persons in my life with whom I have years of history, experiencing horrible times, wonderful times, and everything in between. It’s not realistic to…
It’s A Girl!
In an article about someone who lost his leg in a car accident, the gentleman said “you are only as old as your amputation”. I understand what he means, for when your life changes so drastically everything is new. The way you do things is completely altered and although you…
I Love When He Turns His Back On Me
Piper spends his days playing and hanging out with me, alternately causing chaos and commanding cuddles. I love when he sits with me while I read or watch TV, usually on my shoulder or hand, but sometimes burrowed in my hair up against the side of my neck. My favorite position…
Customs Apparel
Arriving at the international terminal of Philadelphia airport, I wore a Seattle Seahawks shirt. The night before, the Seahawks defeated the Eagles and I got into some good-natured back and forth with a young airport security guard. I continued on to Customs and after a brief wait I was guided…
Here’s A Secret For You . . .
. . . this makes winter a little more bearable: Secret, a three-year-old Australian Shepard, from Sioux City, Iowa loves sledding so much she will do it fifty times a day.
To Do To To Done
I see a therapist every other week and in between sessions I keep a list of things I want to discuss with her. After the appointment, I move those items we covered down and add things as they come up for the next visit. After a few months had passed…
Sleet Shaming
A wintry mix on a Monday afternoon What a way to begib the week There truly is only one way to go When things start out this bleak. — Sister Rain
Ancestry . InCOMprehensible
Flying from Philadelphia to London, then on to Hamburg, Germany a month ago was exhausting. Don’t get me wrong for one second: the trip was incredibly wonderful and the return to air travel for me after five years was a true joy. Rich people problem’s I ain’t got and I…
Undue Trouble
“It is disturbing to me that it’s as easy to do something that can’t be undone as it is to do something that can.” — Sister Rain
Diagnosis Murder
“If you don’t think the common cold can kill, you’ve never taken care of an allegedly grown man while he’s sick.” — Sister Rain
Content Or Content In 2018?
Sitting down with a new book is a somewhat spiritual experience for me. There is joy and excitement and great reverence for the author. The journey from thoughts and ideas to a published book that strangers will buy or borrow from their library and hold in their hands all around…
Happy Right Now
As I write this final blog of 2017, I’m feeling like Piper. Not quite ready to turn my back on this current year nor ready to face 2018 straight on. This is always an odd time, the week between the two holidays, recovering from the first while waiting for the…
File This Under “Perfect”
Two best friends walk into The Container Store. One has never been. Three hours and two carts full later, a flatbed is wheeled out to their parking spot with a file cabinet on it packed in a large box. It doesn’t fit in the car. It is left behind for pickup…
Cindoorella
Spending most of my days at home, I am sans makeup, hair in a bun, wearing slippers and yoga pants. When I head out to lunch with a friend or an appointment, I rig up all the ropes and pulleys necessary to make me palatable for public consumption. These outings…
In Concord I Find My Own Liberty Trail
After stumbling upon Louisa May Alcott’s family home, Orchard House, while in Concord, Massachusetts this summer, I have wanted to see the movie Little Women again. I was finally able to record it on Christmas Eve and watched it early Christmas morning before husband and bird woke up. The Civil War timeframe, the…
Piper On Earth, Good Will Toward All
We don’t speak each other’s native language. We travelled a long way to find each other. We reminded each other what love, trust and hope mean. And every day, when we meet again, it’s Christmas morn. Piper and I wish you the happiest of holidays, filled with peace and the…
Cheesey But Great Idea For Office White Elephant
‘Twas the day before the office Christmas party . . . While having breakfast this morning, I flipped through the channels of Sirius XM and found a talk show I was not familiar with. The host was taking questions and a caller asked for ideas for an office White Elephant gift…
A Math Made In Haven
It’s easy to feel superior when your husband says “high fluent” instead of “highfalutin”. Until the next day when you tell him you have “cat-like refluxes”.
Cursed With A Guardian Agent
You know how “Rose and Thorn” is now a thing, where you say the best (the rose) and the worst (the thorn) thing that happened during your day or a trip. While in the Hamburg, Germany airport for the beginning leg of our journey home, my best friend and I experienced…
Time Travel
Math has never been my strong suit but after being home from Germany for twelve days and still waking up at 4 a.m., there is only one thing to do: Go back six hours to counteract the six hours ahead that have messed me up. Christmas in Hawaii. It’s only…
We Wish We Didn’t Look Then Where We’re Not Looking Now
While at a holiday party, after cocktails, a wonderful meal and unique entertainment, the dancing began. Sensing a gentleman surveying my friend I said, “Avoid eye contact at three o’clock”. She replied, “I know where to look and not to look”. She was, of course, talking about this particular social minefield. But what…
The Cause For The Pause
Struggling to finish my first blog after two weeks away, I couldn’t help but wonder: “Does menopause mean even your creative juices run dry?” — Sister Rain
Even If You Check It, You Have To Carry On
The last evening of my trip to Germany, my suitcase sat on the floor of my hotel room and I sat on top of it. Having purchased quite a few Christmas gifts while in Hamburg, I was going home with more than I had left with and so all my tricks…
Giving November 28th The Bird
The year 2017 has seen many five-year anniversaries for me, which I have documented in several blog posts. They include the adoption of Piper, our orange-fronted conure (a type of parrot) and the death of my mom. And finally, the day I woke up to total darkness on November 28th….
Ringing In The Week
Monday morning: the middle ring. You can either go up or down. Piper made a good choice. May we all do the same.
Pack Friday
I know no one who likes to pack and I would put myself at the top of that list. Even when I travelled regularly for work and had it down to a science, I still hated it. As I prepare for my first big trip in five years, I am…
Many Thanks
Over the last few months I have started each day with gratitude, reflecting on all that I have. Doing so has made every day better and today no less special. And for that I am really grateful. HAPPY THANKSGIVING?
Poultzzzzzzz
It’s said eating turkey makes you sleepy But I propose it’s something more It’s not the tryptophan that will get you It’s all the prep the day before. — Sister Rain
My Dream Catcher Has A Big Hole In It
This morning my husband informed me that I had a bad dream during the night. I then vaguely remembered him waking me up but have no recollection of the nightmare. I asked him how he knew I was in the grasp of some unconscious struggle and he replied, “You said, ‘I’m…
De-Isolating
When I worked fulltime, traveling and also attempting to keep everything running at home, all I ever wanted was time to myself. I know no woman my age who doesn’t long for an empty house every once in a while. Who am I kidding? They want it often. Now, I find…
Sock It To Me
When I was taken by ambulance to a Philadelphia hospital from our local medical center the day I woke up blind, I wore a hospital gown and my own white athletic socks. When I was admitted by the city hospital, I was given a pair of non-slip socks which I put…
Getting There Was Not Half The Fun
“They say it’s about the journey and not the destination. But sometimes, when the journey is especially difficult, it’s ENTIRELY about the destination.” — Sister Rain
Waste Not, Want Not
My mom loved our first bird, Cato, who was a Lutino cockatiel. When she was at our house she would joke that he was a “time-waster” because we would end up playing with him instead of whatever our intentions were. Sometimes in the morning, Pioer, our parrot, is sleepy and…
Family Is Relative
As I have written about many times, my friends are my family. I have never spoken of it here but I have a brother eight years older than me and a father who both live about five miles from me. The how’s and why’s are a long, long story but…
Password: Perseverance
When I sign on to this blog, I have three chances to get the logon right before I am blocked out of it. I have never made more than one wrong attempt and believe me when I tell you that the first unsuccessful effort puts such fear in me that…
The Smirkin’s Still Workin’
Today is the anniversary of the day I met my husband. His sister set us up. I remember it like was yesterday, the way he walked into my apartment. I now share with you the heartwarming celebration of the occasion that occurred this morning: Me: Blue and white Oxford. Hands on…
Big Not-A-Mistake. Big. Huge.”
I needed to get new clothes for an upcoming trip and also for the mere fact that I have not shopped in five years, other than picking up a shirt here, a pair of yoga pants there. If you looked at my current wardrobe you would think I was a…
A Mistaken Signdentity
During my walk I came upon this sign. And to me it looked like an actual person. Imagine my surprise when I got close enough to see that his head wasn’t attached to his body.
I Approve This Post
It’s Municipal Election Day and as I returned home from voting I thought about all the people working at the polls and everyone taking time from their busy lives to make their choices known and to help shape the community in which they live. And I wondered: How many of…
Chicken No More
Why did the legally blind woman cross the busy road for the first time in five years? Because she can.
He Eggs Me On. Everyday.
Piper has been through a lot in his eleven years: hatched in Florida, lived with a family for a few years, was surrendered by them to the rescue in New York, then moved with it to New Jersey, where I found him. And yet from the first morning after we brought…
Plucking Eurphoric
I had an amazing day yesterday which I will share as soon as I have a little time to process it. I did something I haven’t done in five years, the first time since my vision loss and without my mom who was often with me in thSee endeavors when…
Last But The Opposite Of Least
This hair dryer no longer works. It stopped one day as I was getting ready for an appointment so I ran to where I keep my travel supplies and luggage and grabbed my old travel hair dryer, purchased during those long ago times when a hotel didn’t supply one for…
You Kit Kan’t Make This Stuff Up
At my hair appointment today, the receptionist came and asked my stylist while she was shampooing me if she had time later today to cut a new customer’s hair who was on the phone. The client’s name was Candy. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
My Library Card Has Some High Mileage On It
In thinking about sharing my story, I consider myself a typical person. I had a family and friends, a career I loved and hobbies that required eyesight: seeing all parts of this beautiful country, devouring books and driving my car. I am not the inspirational representation we often see, I am…
His Squawk Is Worse Than His Bite
Parents today often implement chore charts for their children, offering them the opportunity to learn responsibility, pride in their work and the feeling of being a contributing member of the household. My kid is more of an I-make-the-mess-around-here kind of participant in the running of our home but trust me…
Current-Née
Have you ever had a favorite local restaurant change its ownership and name, yet you continue to call it by its original moniker years later? Or have you ever known someone since your school years and two marriages later still think of her by her maiden name? And in my…
Sister Rain’s Wild Ride
A friend was recently telling my husband and me about his trip to Disney with his wife and daughter. He is in his late 40s, a fearful person, afraid of flying, cities and amusement park rides, among other things. We had heard that his family had somehow convinced him to…
AARP POV
While thinking about what I wanted to get done today, my internal dialogue said something funny, followed immediately by “LOL”. Yep, the voice inside my head said L-O-L. What’s next? The poop emoji when I think to myself that something is crap? And would that make me bilingual? How can I authentically “tsk” and…
Middle Page
I am able to read using an electronic magnifier, Merlin. I was an extreme reader before my vision loss and in the first three years after, I had neither the sight nor the technology to do so. But now I can once again devour title after title, and often wonder how…
Priority Checkup
The same day I cracked my iPad (Broken Up But Still Together) we had Piper’s annual checkup with his avian vet scheduled for that evening. As I attempted to calm myself down about the damage to my device I referenced the upcoming appointment to myself. The good outcome of the day…
Doppelthinner
I was reading online today the conspiracy theories that the First Lady is using a decoy at public appearances. I would love a body double . . . half my size.
I See No Limits For Myself
Reading the statement “Limits begin where vision ends” on social media, I knew that it was made metaphorically, but it spoke to me also from a literal perspective. I will admit that when I initially suffered the loss of my sight it felt as though I had nothing but limitations. But…
Broken Up But Still Together
Yesterday while packing up some bird toys that Piper will never use to be sent to the rescue where he once lived, my iPad fell off the kitchen counter and landed a perfect belly-flop on the tiled floor. I am so used to dropping my phone with no disastrous results I was…
Porta Bull
While at an outdoor event I had to go to the bathroom and the only option was a porta potty. My husband and I stepped up to a set of four, standing alone and empty. My marital fully functioning eyes opened the door for me as I removed my folding…
Breaking It Down
After a spring spent focusing on my new career: researching, studying, creating, I find myself in a new spot. No, not my new business. And not longing for my past work life as I was for a long time after my vision loss. Instead, I find myself the last few…
Home Sweet Ecru? Eggplant? Eggshell?
Why is it you can look at a place one time and know without a doubt it is your new home but you can live somewhere for years and not be able to choose a paint color for a room?
My DNA Breakdown: 3% Tastykake
Depending on where you’re from, you may not have heard of Tastykake, a line of snack foods founded in 1914 in Philadelphia. Click here for their website. I grew up on these products and one of the last things my mom wanted before she died was a box of their Powdered Sugar…
For Our Aching, Broken Hearts
Today while out for my walk I listened to Howard Stern interview Miley Cyrus. I danced to her father’s Achy Breaky Heart at my wedding so I am not exactly her demographic. But I have changed my opinion of many celebrities as a result of Stern’s discussion with them. And I…
A Declaration Of Love
I recently visited the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. I am a huge lover of American history and was excited when the museum opened a few months ago and couldn’t wait to visit. Although you can easily discover the contents of its collection online, I believe that my going into…
Twenty-Five Years Of Spray
The traditional gift for a 25th wedding anniversary is silver, just like the color of our hair after a quarter of a century of wedded bliss. Today is that milestone for my husband and me and we really can’t believe it. We both remember October 3, 1992 like it was yesterday…
What Happened In Vegas . . .
. . . cannot stay in Vegas. It happened to us all. Like many homes across our country, Sundays are about numbers: our fantasy and favorite NFL teams. We are glued to the TV, our devices, willing our players to put points on the scoreboard. A mere six hours after…
She Might As Well Have Taken My Temperature Rectally
In a doctor’s exam room a nurse takes my vitals and reviews my medical history. My vision comes up and I recite the facts as if they were just another position on my resume during a job interview. Then this: Nurse: “How do you get around?” Me: “I can walk pretty well…
I Can’t Always See What They’re Saying
When my nana began to lose her hearing, I was in my thirties. My mom and I discussed it a lot, how when the family got together my nana would smile and nod her head but it was evident that she was missing a lot of the conversation. I would…
Eggs A La Antibiotics
“Having breakfast with a best friend right before a doctor’s appointment is like having the most delicious dessert before an inedible, overpriced meal.” — Sister Rain
Paint Like Nobody’s Watching
My husband recently painted our porch and the railing of our many steps also needed some tender loving color. I don’t know why but I really wanted to tackle this project. I can’t see anything clearly, let alone in detail, from a light standpoint it’s as if I’m always wearing…
I See What He’s Saying
One of the first questions I am asked when someone learns that I have a bird is whether he talks. I find myself replying that he mimics, which is true, but I do it in a way that is almost apologetic. I explain that he was in a bird rescue…
Duly Noted
If you use the Notes app on your iPhone and iPad, I want to share with you the great features that I knew nothing about until one day I was convinced there had to be a way to use bullet points in the app and made the discovery. I was…
The Nature Of Humans
During a TV show about Houston and recovery efforts there after Hurricane Harvey, a woman was asked by a reporter how she and her family had fared as a result of the storm. Her response was immediate, honest and real, “We just lost one house and two cars.” She went on to…
9/19/17 – 9:22 am – Sister Rain
Recently I mentioned to several people that when I call a business, I document the time, date and name of the person I speak to. I have done this for so long I don’t remember how or why I started doing it, but when I was just talking about it…
The Signs Of Our Lives
Driving by a local business, my husband saw a sign for an upcoming event. He told me about it when he got home and I commented that I walk by this place a few times a week and, of course, never saw the sign. This was an actual sign but…
Judging A Life By The Number Of New Book Releases
Loving books since I was a little girl, new releases are like Christmas morning any time of year. Every month I go online and review the hundreds of new titles that have been published since I checked thirty or so days before. Doing just that today, the number of bound…
Don’t Give Up Before The Miracle Happens
Yesterday while in church before a funeral service began, I removed a Bible and opened it, paging through it as if looking for a particular verse. My husband watched me with a quizzical look on his face. I leaned close to him and whispered, “If it’s going to happen anywhere, it’s…
Motherloss
Recently I described myself as motherless in an exercise where I listed who I was before my vision loss and who I am now. My mom died a few months before I woke up without my sight. Thinking about that later, I realized that did a huge disservice to the…
Never Forget, Always Stand Up
I took this picture of the Freedom Tower through the sunroof of our car as we drove by it recently. Terrorist attacks. Hurricanes. We stand up and we stand tall. Life can be extremely to the nth degree difficult, something, I believe, we aren’t really taught growing up or if…
Feeling Home
When I use my iPad, I am unable to see if is right side up and so I feel the screen border to find the Home button. As I did this very thing today, with The Weather Channel and its Irma coverage on the TV, my thoughts were of everyone’s…
Houdini Martinis
While driving to dinner, my friend and I saw a billboard (well, SHE saw it) announcing a new Escape Room in the area. You know, where you are locked in a room with hidden clues that will lead you to the key to escape? When she told me about it,…
It’s Not Easy Being Green
I am jealous of you. There, I said it. If you have your full sight I am envious. Sure, that is perfectly understandable. Of course I want that for myself. And yet it is not a good feeling, especially when it originates from people I love and who have always…
Auntie D, Cardiac Care
There are cardiologists who tend to our medical needs but who do you entrust your heart to when it is 90 grams of feathers or 45 pounds of fur? It is a huge concern and if you don’t know someone willing and able who you would trust with this life,…
Boston Tee Party
My husband just turned 50 while we were on vacation in Boston. We took our nephew, who is 12, to tour and see a game at Fenway. When the Birthday Boy woke up on his special day, I gave him a gift I had packed for him: He is always…
Learning About Reflection
They say there is no learning without reflection. Ever since the shock of my vision loss wore off, I began to assess myself, my existence and the meaning of life. You know, the little stuff. And although I may have figured some things out and have grown and healed because…
Big Little Day
I know we shouldn’t sweat the small stuff. Instead we should celebrate the little things. I try to abide by both but am not always successful. Recently, however, I had a big day due to three little things. First, I added a new block to my walk outside, traveling a…
Defining Defining Moments
During Kurt Warner’s speech at his induction into the NFL Hall of Fame, he said, “. . . which moments would best define me? I would have said, like most of you, the accomplishments . . .” I instantly thought of my own defining moments and the one I thought…
The Journey Of A Thousand Miles Begins With One Step*
*Lao Tzu This is my one thousandth post. I started this blog while searching for a new job during the recession when my company shut down. I continued writing through the long, tortuous hunt, through several jobs up until the terminal diagnosis was given to my mom. A three-year hiatus…
The Chronic Human Conditions
Have you ever noticed we ask others how they’re doing or feeling when they have a cold or an injury or if a difficult event has just occurred but when it’s a persistent situation we tend not to bring it up? If my friend falls and sprains her ankle I…
No Special Glasses Required To View This Post
You can’t get away from the solar eclipse talk today. I know some people who are very excited about it and others who couldn’t care less. As for me, although I have some vision, it always appears that the lights are off: a daily eclipse of my own. I don’t know…
We Do
Helping me through a mammogram scare, I profusely thanked my amazing friend for being by my side for the follow-up ultrasound and the agonizing 24 hours in between that second test and the call that the mammogram showed something suspicious. Her response to me was, “This is what we do”. She…
Wiping My Nose
While cleaning this morning, my allergies were in full revolt from the cleaning products. It is also a muggy day here and I couldn’t wait to finish my chores and get in the shower I had just scrubbed. I reached for the clean tissue I had set on the sink…
Different Strokes For Same Folks
We are so fortunate to have so many choices in life. There are the ones we make every minute: what to have for lunch, how we wear our hair, what we read (if we even chose to read), where we go and what we do when we get there and…
Getting Fearless Wit It
I like to post original content on this blog but I saw this video this weekend and had to share it. Let’s commit to a week of ZERO FEAR. (Video courtesy of mateuszm.com)
Cinco De Meeto
Five years ago today my husband and I drove 90 minutes to the bird rescue to meet Piper, an orange-fronted conure I had found on petfinder.com. Brought into the large room and placed on a play gym he did not step up on our offered fingers and so we let…
GPS (Guided (by) Poor Sight)
While on my walk this morning, a woman in her car stopped and asked me for directions to a nearby highway. I have lived in this area my whole life so getting her where she needed to go was no problem. It is comical, though, that she had no idea…
A Passionate Blog
I have been thinking about our passions and what happens when they become work. I don’t mean when they become a job, for example, if your passion is singing and you become a professional performer, but when you love something so much you are compelled to do it every day…
No Time Today, I’ll Do It Tomorrow
“Sometimes you are so focused on the future you don’t have time for the present. But at least you’re no longer consumed by the past.” — Sister Rain
Fantasy Baseball
Yesterday Darren Daulton died. He was a catcher for the Phillies in the 80s and 90s. My husband gave me the news when he came to bed last night. We were both avid Phillies fans during Daulton’s playing years and although we never met the man we felt like we…
They Don’t Check Me Out
Sometimes when I’m at the library I have to ask for help in finding a book. I always tell the person I am visually impaired and I wonder what the librarian thinks about someone getting a book who cannot see well enough to locate a particular title on the shelf. I…
Big Returns
In a world where we can easily order anything online, competitive companies market their “hassle-free returns”. But here’s a secret: The best return is having to send back an article of clothing because it’s too big.
Inside Friendship
Sitting in a booth with a cherished friend of over twenty plus years is one of the greatest joys of my life. I cannot see her face across the table, but I would know her anywhere. We are connected by sharing, laughter and love and somehow knew each other before…
The Best Internet Connection Of My Life
2012 was the most significant year of my life as I would lose my mom and my vision within five months of each other. Therefore, 2017 brings many five-year markers and I have been documenting them here as they arrive. Today is not only the fifth anniversary of the beginning of…
The Stinker
Walking my neighborhood is a welcome change from my daily ride on an exercise bike and strength building exercises. It’s difficult for me to traverse the uneven sidewalks but I don’t let that stop me. This morning being a trash day, my already challenging environment included trash cans and recycle…
One Rung At A Time
“New things may be scary at first, but before you know it you have found a favorite new comfy place to perch.” — Sister Rain
OG Pandora In A Wi-Fi World
I heard there is a new movie out about Pandora’s box this made me think about how we all have access to our own releasing of things we shouldn’t but do: the internet. There you can self-diagnose a paper cut as the first sign of a rare and incurable disease….
Selfshe
My husband and I were watching a TV show where the couple was asked to say which body part of their spouse was their favorite. I turned to my husband and said, “My favorite part of you is your back. You know, when you leave in the morning.” You may…
What’s Ur Msg?
If you had to sum up in one sentence your message to the world what would it be? Not who you are in relation to others, not your occupation or a list of your hobbies or other favorite things. I’m talking about a statement you would make based on your…
A Summer Senior Moment
We love our farm stand. When we drive by the lot in the dead of winter I always implore my husband to stop for corn or peaches and he sternly informs me it’s not summer. He is mean. On Saturday we picked up the farm’s first corn on the cob…
~ iPerson ~
Upon getting her first iPhone, I offered assistance to my friend as I welcomed her to Apple Nation. I should tell you right from the start I am not a paid spokeswoman for the company, but I will tell you that without my iProducts my darkened life would be less…
But If You Try Sometimes, Well, You Just Might Find . . .
Last year I was having trouble with my knee — it was painful and swollen. After weeks of limping it along, I went to the doctor and learned I have significant arthritis in both my knees. After a cortisone shot and weeks of physical therapy, it has been doing really…
Right Back At Him
“Trusting somebirdy means feeling so comfortable and safe with them that you can show them all your sides.” — Sister Rain
Meet My Personal Trainer: Mother Nature
Getting older brings a whole different kind of belly fat and that requires additional abdominal exercise. So does the ice cream and donuts but stay with me here. Getting older also brings more frequent urination. So if you’re doing crunches and the like and you have to pee, but you just want…
Here, Anger, Anger
Like a kitten with a ball of yarn Losing this plastic pull opener from a container of grocery-store macaroni salad Can keep my visually challenged self busy for hours. And by busy, I mean ENRAGED.
Accountabili-Me
Since I stopped working, it has been very strange to not be accountable to anyone. There is no boss in my life, other than the one who thinks he is in the form of my husband, no figurative or literal time clock, no deadlines, no dress code, no annual performance review….
It’s Not What You Know, But Who You Know
Today I went for a pedicure with a good friend and after getting our toes spruced up, we stopped at a local coffee cafe for sugary treats and iced versions of coffee and tea. High humidity is here in its oppressive glory and cold beverages in an air-conditioned hot spot…
A Summary Read
If you are an avid reader like I am, you have your favorite authors and never miss a new book of theirs when it comes out. I am always excited to dive into the latest story, written by what feels like a trusted friend. Quite often I don’t even read…
Christmas In July
Changing out some spring decorations for summer themed accents, I worked in the attic, packing and unpacking items in and out of their boldly labeled bins. Opening the summer container, I saw a large drawing of a Snowman and checked the label on the outside again to confirm this was…
Snap, Crackle, Ole
One of our favorite football snacks is tortilla chips with melted cheese on top. I was craving them and decided to make some today, although my t-shirt and shorts tan, as well as the thermometer, clearly scream baseball season. I knew we had Tostitos in the cabinet but I also…
DOA (Dead On Autocorrect)
Trying to beat the heat and humidity by heading out for a walk early, I left home without having a cup of coffee, the thing I do before all else when I wake up every morning. I always text my husband when I start my walk and when I return…
Proud To Be An Eggmerican
This was a special at the diner this morning in honor of the holiday. I didn’t choose it, but I could have. And that’s what our Founding Fathers wanted for us, the freedom to make our own choices. Obviously the fight for independence was about more important things than the…
Raw(fee)lings
When this ball was manufactured by Rawlings, it was just one of millions made by the company. But yesterday it became the ball my eleven-year-old nephew hit for his first home run. I heard the crack of the bat, my sister-in-law and the crowd yelling and waited for my play-by-play announcer,…
Simple Playsures
He’s got a big basket full of toys but give him a box, a roll of toilet paper, an empty antacid bottle and a towel and Piper is one happy bird. And nothing makes this bird mom happier than Piper at play. What makes dad unhappy? When mom gives Piper the…
Stressi-Strips
Have you ever gone through a stressful time surprisingly easily and seemingly unscathed only to feel a few days later as though you’ve been hit by a truck? That’s what I have been experiencing all week, after my husband’s heart procedure last week, the sudden disappearance of my website the…
Wonder Drugs
Giving my name and date of birth at the pharmacy, I was surprised to hear they had not just the one medication I needed but two others. I took them all, having them ready on automatic refill meant I would be needing them soon. As this was our last stop…
Vital Signs
Three years after being implanted, the lead wire of my husband’s defibrillator became faulty and had to be replaced. No surgery is easy for the patient or family waiting for word, but when the part of the anatomy being worked on is the heart, everyone’s pulse quickens a bit. I…
Handy Memories Get Me Through
On April 14th of this year, I posted “Shore-Ly Good Fridays” when the first of many five-year markers occurred for me in 2017. Today is another: the fifth anniversary of my mom’s death. Five years. Old enough to go to kindergarten. I don’t remember my first day of school but I know…
Proud Keep On Rollin’
I love this saying but I also recognize that being proud of ourselves is something we don’t think about very much, if at all. We are proud of our family and friends, for who they are and what they persevere through. We are proud to be Americans. But proud of ourself? That…
Working Out Locked Out
A beautiful morning without the humidity that has been plaguing us like, well, the plague. I don’t really want to go out for a walk but I want to ride the exercise bike even less. Sometimes less really is more. Sneaks, workout shorts and a cool top. check iPhone and headphones. check …
Will Work For Peanuts
After twenty-five years of washing our dishes, I placed an ad and this showed up. He said he has experience but I told him bathing in his water dish doesn’t count.
Sweaty Betty On A Furry Friday
You know the week has completely kicked your butt when you put on jeans despite the heat and humidity because you are too damn exhausted to shave your legs.
Losing My Site
After months of working with a wonderful website designer and years of wanting this blog to look a certain way, SisterRain.net’s makeover was complete. Vowing to learn more about WordPress and make changes to this blog myself moving forward, I added a Contact Form on Monday all by myself. I…
Royally Blue-tiful
I don’t see colors, really, except certain shades of blue, especially royal blue. I will be walking somewhere, everything muted, then catch a flash of color: someone wearing a royal blue hat or shirt. Not being able to see Piper, our orange-fronted conure’s (a species of parrot) beautiful orange, blue…
Don’t Just Bust It, Trust It
I believe you must explore every opportunity, seeking it out, researching and following through. A key piece of the analysis is trusting your gut as to what is right or wrong for you. That doesn’t mean you should act impulsively but rather listen to what your heart and mind have…
Deaf And Blind, Meet Dumb
Yesterday during my annual appointment with my neuro-ophthalmologist, I had images taken of my optic nerves. The technician taking the pictures asked me what had happened (to my vision) and I told her and she replied, “I would rather be deaf than blind.” I don’t know sign language but I…
Life Is Like A Box Of Piper
Hershey Box Happy* Finding Piper at the bird rescue, with so many wonderful birds in need of a forever family, really was like the Forrest Gump famous quote, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” But Piper was the first result to pop up when…
Everything’s Going Wrong. And That Feel Right.
As I work in the starting phases of several business projects, it seems to be one problem after another: technical issues, people not getting back to me, doing research and finding no good results. It’s reminiscent of my three decades in corporate America and I’ve found it a bit shocking…
Signing On
In my recent post titled “Signing For Our Lives“, I wrote about what our signatures mean to us. And so when I was deciding between a new logo in script font and a plainer, non-script font, there was really no contest. Next to writing my name in cursive, this blog is the…
Inspiration: Two I’s, No U
As I put my ideas into motion and create a new purposeful life for myself, I have been inspired by amazing women who have taught me so much, both via their books and social media. Although we don’t know each other personally, I spend time with them everyday and they…
Safety First. After My Walk.
Since my eyesight went out for a run and never really came back, I have ridden an exercise bike at home five or six days a week. As you can imagine, even with the addition of workout videos, it can get pretty boring. With the arrival of spring, I have…
Do You Hear What You Hear?
Sitting at my dining room table working on some things, I heard the birds outside, my bird inside crunching on his pellets, the occasional car passing by and the ever-present Weather Channel on low in the living room. Although I am home a good part of the time, I keep…
Black & White Lining (I Can’t See Silver)
When you’re so hurt by someone that you can’t even look at them, this visually challenged situation really comes in handy.
This Trumps It All
Appointed: Auntie Term of Office: 2005 – Forever Location of Office: Behind Backstop, My America Thank you to all who have served. For without you, My America looks very different. HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!
Toilet Piper
Trying to find the end to,start the roll of toilet paper can be a difficult task when you can see properly. Add in a vision problem and you’ve got yourself a real misadventure. Luckily, I have a secret weapon:
To Ask For Help Are Not, That Is The Question
“Are there scarier things than asking for help? There are. Are there dumber things than NOT asking for help? There are NOT.” — Sister Rain
If Friendship Was A Candle, It Would Smell Like Christmas Morn
My friends are so very important to me as I have written about many times on this blog. And although we are in constant contact via text, there is nothing better than getting caught up on each other’s lives in person. Every get-together has a holiday feel to it, beginning when we…
Home Is Where The Work Is
My mom was a stay-at-home mom, although in those days she was branded a “housewife”. Whatever the title du jour, I loved her being there after school and her chaperoning field trips. I, however, wanted a career and for twenty-five years worked in corporate America. Since the loss of my…
Power Steering
Reporters keep commenting that President Obama looks so happy when he’s driving a golf cart, speculating it’s due to,the fact that he hasn’t driven anything in eight years. I know how he feels. I think driving is the thing I miss the most since my sight became compromised. Imagine not being…
Birdtual Assistant
A webinar for me . . . . . . means R&R for Piper. As I listened to the webinar host list all the participants’ states and countries, I wondered how many others had a parrot cuddling up against their necks? In 90º temperatures, I might add! I hope the…
Doodling’s Still Dandy
When I was a part of the workforce, conference and client calls as well as webinars were a daily occurrence. Like my maternal grandmother, I have always been a doodler, and these meetings were when I practiced my craft. Yesterday, while participating in a webinar about growing your online audience,…
Hey, I Could Have Used A Birth Analogy!
I am on fire these days, working to grow this blog, become involved in other projects and bring my purpose to life. I am educating myself, researching ideas and flexing muscles that have been atrophied for the last five years. As I was going over my To Do List this…
Battering A Thousand (Calories)
The one instruction always missing on a brownie mix box is how much of the batter goes in the pan and how much goes in your belly.
Your Next Opportunity May Be Right Around The Corner
While walking around the neighborhood this morning, I stopped under a tree so that the shade would allow me to see my iPhone screen well enough to,change to another audio clip. Less than a minute later, back to my workout, a man coming towards me on the sidewalk stopped next…
A Nice Idea For Mother’s Day If You’ve Lost Your Mom
Mother’s Day without a mother is not just another day. Even if you are a mother yourself, when you have lost your own there is an important piece missing from this designated Sunday in May. Once a daughter, always a daughter. The greeting card industry escalates an already difficult holiday…
Flip-Flops In A Blizzard
Thinking about the fact that I need to return a pair of shoes I recently bought, the expression “Walk a mile in her shoes” came to mind. We are taught or learn, hopefully, not to judge someone if we haven’t been in their exact same position. With genuine desire and…
Franklin, My Dear
Growing up thirty miles from Philadelphia, with everyone in my family born and raised there, spending time downtown shopping with my mom, sightseeing, visiting my nana, the City of Brotherly Love is not only woven throughout my childhood memories and my own adult traditions, it is part of my DNA….
It’s All On The Wrist
It took a few days but Piper has returned to one of his favorite perching spots after the addition of a Fitbit to both of our lives. I never know what is going to spook my feisty little man. I have worn a brace on this left wrist for recurring…
That Old Familiar Flush
For a decade, my husband and I would travel with a group of friends to Las Vegas every other year. We enjoyed gambling but also did a lot of sightseeing and took day trips to places like the Hoover Dam and the Bunny Ranch. Just checking to see if you’re paying…
May 7th (AKA My Birthday)
May 7, 2011: Took an early flight home from Atlanta where I had been for a week, managing a pharmaceutical company meeting. May 7, 2012: Stood in a hospital corridor outside my mom’s room, with an oncologist I had just met and would never see again, who answered the question, “What kind…
Home Is Where The Sports Bra Is
You know you had better slow down when you’re so ridiculously focused on getting through your To Do List that you leave your house to walk your neighborhood without putting on a bra. Dear Neighborhood Watch: I hope you weren’t, you know, watching. Sister Rain
Signing For Our Lives
I like to joke that even when I had no vision at all, much to my husband’s dismay, I could still sign a credit card receipt. Although I do have some sight, I cannot see what I am writing. I always had extremely good printing and friends say I still…
The Perfect Direction: Forward
“Things don’t need to be perfect. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to allow yourself to move forward.” — Carrie Green, founder and owner of the Female Entrepreneur Association and author of She Means Business
It’s The Bitty Things
A few weeks ago I posted “The 411 On 426”, where I shared that I was thinking of getting a Fitbit. I did order one and it is now strapped to my left wrist. To review, within a four-year span, I lost my mom, my vision, my father-in-law and my husband…
There Should Be A Laxative For Decisionitis
Are you indecisive or do you make up your mind quickly? See what I did there? That was a question AND a little test. If you took some time to decide or instantly could identify which option is you, your actions may have spoken louder than your answer. If you…
Toast And Your Jam For Breakfast
I write my blog posts in the morning. I find that if I let it go until the afternoon due to my schedule or a struggle with an idea, or lack thereof, it throws me and my day off-kilter. It causes me to feel unsettled, as if I’ve left the…
Venus And Mars Do NOT Use The Same Currency
While getting a smaller wallet to fit into a smaller purse I was switching to, I looked at my stash of wallets devoid of cash and thought how great it would be if they were full of money. This was followed by the realization, and perhaps it was in my…
Mondate
I spent the first twenty-five minutes of today searching for an earring I dropped on the floor. Every Monday is like the start of a week-long blind date for all of us. We don’t know what’s going to show up, whether we’ll get along or if it will end in…
Purdy Inspiring
I first became aware of Amy Purdy when she competed on Dancing with the Stars in 2014. Earlier this year, I discovered she had written a book, On My Own Two Feet, published a few years ago. It greatly impacted me and I give Amy and her story credit in playing a…
Meeting Enthusiast
I’ve been invited to attend a meeting next week and I asked the head of the organization if he needed any information from me prior to then. He replied, “All I need from you is a smile and a little enthusiasm.” As a corporate meeting planner I was the person…
Cover Judge
We met on the internet, on a site hosted by mutual acquaintances, Barnes and Noble. I was instantly attracted as I enlarged the view on my iPad and let my eyes take it all in. In that instant, I couldn’t wait to hold this like-minded discovery in my hands. I…
The 411 On 426
My mom’s birthday is 4/26 and she died at 4:26 p.m. Since then, “426” pops up,an awful lot. An awful lot. I realize many people will think this is similar to when you buy a new car and then you notice that make and model everywhere. It could be labeled wishful…
“Ists” Are People, Too
As I have mentioned before, I see a therapist. I received a text this morning from her, letting me know there was a death in her family and tomorrow’s appointment had to be cancelled. Of course I know she has a family but the professional people I see — doctors,…
Shore-ly Good Fridays
(Part 1 of My Fifth Year) I am 5 x 10 (oh, how I wish that was 5′ 10″) but this year, 2017, in many ways I am experiencing my fifth year. Today s that first fifth marker as it is the fifth Easter I will not spend a four-day…
Ziggy Rain
“The more your life zigs when it should have zagged, the less you want the zag moving forward.” — Sister Rain
For Whom The Books Are Written, They Are Written For Thee
In honor of my ability to once again read my beloved books with the help of a Merlin LCD Electronic Magnifier, I am determined to read some Classic literature. The only books of this kind I remember being assigned to read in school were J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and Lord…
Hairy Lemonade
At an appointment yesterday with my primary care physician, I asked her about the pimples that keep popping out all along my chin. It is the worst acne of my life, my teenage skin a porcelain doll’s in comparison. As I suspected, the cause is the stage of life I…
Suits Of Armor
I just donated quite a few business suits to a wonderful organization, Wings For Success. They are located in Frazer, Pennsylvania, and as stated on their website, they “provide more than work-appropriate clothes to courageous and economically disadvantaged women. They help outfit them with confidence.” One of the volunteers at…
Blood Letting (A Student Draw Mine)
I am not needle-adverse. Never have been. Shots, IVs, blood donation, blood drawn for lab testing — don’t phase me in the least. This served me well during the week I spent in a Philadelphia hospital after I woke up blind. Oh, let’s add spinal tap (or lumbar puncture, if…
A Cup Of Coffee And A Friendship To Go
A rainy, gray morning and a new issue of People magazine, called for a travel mug of coffee to accompany me back to bed after breakfast. I retrieved the The West Wing tv series tumbler from the kitchen cabinet, another relic from my corporate America days. It was given to me an infinite…
Some Days Are Crappier Than Others
As many of us do, I reached for my phone this morning before my eyes were fully open and checked messages and then today’s To Do List. Following the usual working out and blogging tasks, I saw “Poop”. In my pre-coffee haze, it took me a minute to remember I…
She Died Putting Her Boots On
Ladies, wash the body lotion off your hands before zipping on your riding boots. For that is a slippery slope.
Poword
I love words, both writing and reading them. But even with the amount of time I spend doing those two things, the words inside my head are by far the most prevalent. That could be because I’m by myself a lot, but when I think back to when I was working,…
Been There, Cleaned That
There are so many things we must do once in our life before our time on earth is through. My list includes swim with dolphins, travel to another country, see the Grand Canyon, skydive, drive across the U.S. Why isn’t “clean the bathroom” a one-time experience?
“I Love Your Top But Can I Borrow Your Eyes?”
I never had a sister who I shared clothes with. I have traded books and recipes with friends over the years and now I ask them to lend me their vision. My husband is color blind and so I must outsource this particular activity..I have gotten help organizing my clothes…
Tale As Old As Time: Men And Women
My husband decided that he, too, wanted to clean out his clothes as I have been doing and was going through his neckties. As he made a pile of those he was ready to part with, I rolled and packed them for donation. I recognized a paisley print and remembered…
If It Happens And You Did It, Take A Look
The thing about long-term, hard-fought, hurdle-after-hurdle, brick-wall-scab-on-your-forehead, hyphenated projects is that when things start happening, you may not be prepared. Instead, you may be surprised and a little overwhelmed. It’s scary to take a peek. What If after all your hard work it’s not right? It’s not what you envisioned?…
The Blogger Wore No Clothes But Boy Can She Hang!
While doing some heavy-duty clothes cleaning out this week, I have made a shocking discovery. No, not my circa 1985 Air Supply concert t-shirt, but this: It’s not the machines nor the robots nor the zombies we should fear. It’s the hangers. And now that I have aggressively pared down…
What If?
‘”What” and “if” are two words as non-threatening as words can be, but put them together side by side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life.’ — Letters To Juliet, Screenplay by Jose Rivera and Tim Sullivan
Sister Rain Unplugged
One of the most challenging things for me to do is to plug things into an electric outlet. I do so much by touch but we are taught at an early age not to stick our fingers into sockets. So with the flashlight on my iPhone I struggle for minutes…
Never Been So Happy To Be Average
I just recently heard of the “Average of Five” rule which theorizes we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. After I learned of this concept, I purposely didn’t read the for and against arguments, as I wanted to think about it without influence….
The Weekend: Trying To Fit Pounds Onto A Gram Scale
Today we did Piper’s monthly weight check as he had gained some “gm’s” at his last annual well-check visit to the vet. We use an electronic kitchen scale and he is usually pretty cooperative about standing on it for the amount of time it takes to get a reading. We…
Fowl Joke
So there’s this fella with a parrot. And this parrot swears like a sailor, I mean he’s a pistol. He can swear for five minutes straight without repeating himself. Trouble is, the guy who owns him is a quiet, conservative type, and this bird’s foul mouth is driving him crazy….
Tests Show Breast Days Still Ahead
We have all heard that our lives may pass before our eyes when faced with our death. This life review is depicted in books and movies when a character is staring at the business end of a gun or being viciously attacked. It always seems to occur when danger is…
Dear Stella:
I, perhaps more than most, know how important it is to get one’s groove back. But I have to put my snow boot-clad foot down and beg you to reconsider. Groove your bad self back to Jamaica where you met your gorgeous husband, Winston, or stay in your San Francisco…
Big Accomplishments Come In Small Brown Paper Packages
I made some definite goals for myself in 2017 and plan to bring some long-term projects to fruition. My love affair with the word “fruition” is deep and faithful. What I did not expect was that I would return to some run-of-the-mill activities without premeditation. Last weekend, I looked for…
Grading On The Curve . . .
and the stop sign . . . and the highway . . . After only a few weeks using Uber, I have already been obsessing about my Passenger Rating. When I was in school, the ability to check your progress real-time, electronically did not exist. We had to wait for…
I Don’t Know About You, But I Update Myself
Doing an update on my iPad this morning, I thought how great it would be if we could update ourselves with the touch of a button. To be made faster, smarter and more efficient. A new version of ourselves with no sweat, tears, or pain, the bugs all worked out….
The Apple Of His Eye
Out to breakfast this weekend, I shared with my husband the hesitation I was having in regard to an upcoming appointment with a web design company to spruce up SisterRain.net: Me: I am thinking about cancelling my meeting. Him: Why? Me: I have this little blog. Him: Well, maybe Steve Jobs had a little Apple…
Dinner For Breakfast
Coming downstairs this morning, my dining room table sat devoid of the items usually kept on it: glass flowers in a vase, my Merlin CCTV that I use to read, a photo of our first bird whose cage used to sit on it. It made me think immediately of last…
Mrs. DoubtRain
I have come to realize that when we doubt ourselves we are also doubting those in our lives who believe in us. People lift us up, everyday, even when we don’t need it. The energy from our biggest supporters travels any physical distance between us and lifts us up. I…
Uber Independence
In my work life, I would use rental cars, cabs, shuttles, planes and car services with not one thought about it except in regard to dates and times. Since my vision loss, I have relied solely on rides from magnanimous family and friends. There is no public transportation where I…
Who Am I Wearing? Oscar de la MINE
My vision may have been taken from me For that I didn’t have a say But some things we have control over We can do more than just hope and pray. So let me declare to LA and the world Don’t take my Oscar or Miss Universe crown You’ll be…
Bingeing Will Cause You To Exercise
On Friday I began watching This Is Us. The hype and recommendations of friends led me astray but in the best possible way. I was hooked as soon as I saw Jack in his birthday suit. I crammed as many episodes as I could that first day, each bite more delicious than the…
“The Best Way To Predict The Future Is To Create It”
— Abraham Lincoln With Presidents’ Day being celebrated this week, I heard a comedian talking about Daniel Day-Lewis not breaking character for three months during filming of the 2012 historical drama, Lincoln. Five years later, the actor’s approach is still poked fun at. As I heard the joke, I thought about…
Hope May Float But It’s Also Flammable
“One little spark of hope can ignite an inferno of possibilty.” — Sister Rain
Paranormal
Lately I have been hearing of lots of people learning to live a “new normal”. So many, in fact, that it has become something of a phenomenon in my circle of friends/friends of friends/friends of friends of friends. The reasons for our lives’ shifts vary greatly, but all are devastating…
Sunny Day, Sweeping The Clouds Away
Day #2 of sun. After the gloomy, grey days we have had, I’d call this a streak.
Foiled Again
I made lasagna for dinner last night. When I went to put foil over the pan before I placed it in the oven, there was not enough to cover it. My husband was on his way to the gym from work, and he had to go by our neighborhood, so…
A Morning Full Of Ire
In the six hours since I woke up this morning, I have . . . Perspired Been inspired Worn an underwire Desired my hour on the bike to be over Thought I might expire on said bike Admired a purse Realized I am in dire need of a pedicure Aspired…
A Feathered Heart
One is A heart. The other is MY heart. HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY FROM MY HEART TO YOURS!
Chute!
In 1970 the book, What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Belles was first published. As I began to consider my career options ten years later, my teachers recommended this guide for job-seekers as a great tool to assist me in the process. Now, thirty-five years later, this book came bubbling…
Putting My Dormant Driving Skills To Work
“A bend in the road is not an end in the road . . . unless you fail to make the turn.” — Helen Keller
Three Meetings And A Blog Post
My three dearest girlfriends are all away for business, managing meetings for their companies. None of them are dedicated meeting planners, but as is often the case, they find themselves in that role as needed. I have grieved for my career as a corporate meeting planner and I think of…
No-No-No-No-No! No-No-No-No-No-No!
A mere few weeks after Women’s Marches took place throughout our country and around the world, criticism over Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl stomach is unbelievable. Larger issues concerning the rights of females abound but I have to say that scrutiny over a talented and powerful performer wanting to give us all…
This Flashlight Is No Phoney
The Accessibility features on the iPhone and iPad have been lifesavers for me since my vision became so devastatingly challenged. Today is all about the Flashlight. I used it this morning to find an earring I dropped in my bedroom and it saved both my blood pressure and my knees…
Never Did I Ever
Prior to my vision loss, I was able to do a lot of very cool things. I’ve gone hot air ballooning three times, once over Sedona and her beautiful red rocks, swam with stingray and a dolphin (not at the same time), helicoptered over the Grand Canyon, travelled to Europe…
The Soft Center In The Hard Shell
Piper. Our rescue bird. Playful. Headstrong. Smart. A cuddly parrot, whose eyes reveal the soul of a hundred lifetimes.
Pillow Talk
I do it on my stomach. He does it on his side. Sleep, people. SLEEP!!! The last time we bought pillows, we drank the marketing Kool-Aid and purchased those specific to how we sleep. Mine is flatter, his is bulkier. When making the bed, I am careful not to mix them up….
Lifestyles Of The Rich And Spoonless
I saw online today that Demi Lovato’s $8 million home is in danger of sliding down a cliff. And Rob Lowe is looking for a personal assistant to make sure his jacuzzi is turned on and that he has coffee all day, among other things. Salary is $70K plus benefits. I…
Home Remedies
My husband has always liked to tease me over the fact that I am a few years older than him. Kidding aside, though, I have had more aches and pains lately and I feel bad that he also has to endure them through association. He hurt his back this weekend and…
is That A Stye In Your Eye Or Are You Just Happy To See Everything?
Monday morning I woke up with a sore eyelid and with the help of my physician, Dr. Google, the diagnosis was a stye. It’s much better now and last night I dreamt that I woke up, the stye was gone, but my sight was not. I had full vision back…
Tootsie Rolling On Out Of Here
While choking on a mini Tootsie Roll today I wondered for a second, is it gonna end this way? And what would my friends and family think That I should have had water and taken a drink? I would hope that they know that I love them so And agree when…
Life’s Wind Chill Facttor
We have become, if not the, then a Windy City. Having lived here all my life I can say definitively that in recent years we have had extremely blustery days no matter the season. It’s not unusual to have to bring in garden flags and porch signs so they don’t blow down ….
Birdpees Are Next
Meet my personal trainer. It doesn’t get much more personal than climbing all over you while you do your ab work. He is one tough bird whose bird’s eye view is perfect for communicating “GIMME TEN MORE!!!” Piper’s Beak Camp is serious business. Some of you may have a trainer of…
Oh, The Weather Inside Was Frightful
A week before Christmas, on December 19th, our home heater died. We knew we were on borrowed time with it, but the serviceman who came out to get it ready for the approaching cold months thought we could get through one more winter. Two months in to the “Brrrrrr” its…
Feet First Into My Heart
Reptilian-like feet. Prehistoric even. Two toes in front, toe toes in back. Zygodactyl they call it. Dinosaur-like. Both feet and hands. Standing on one while the other holds food. Perching on one to sleep, the other tucked up into the breast feathers. So warm when it’s put back down. These feet do…
Grateful Times Call For Grateful Measures
You know how when you have a cold or an injury and it’s the only thing you can think about? How sometimes, in the case of a bone or a muscle, you can feel your pulse in that painful spot and you hear inside your head, “that hurts, that hurts,…
Lather. Rinse. Rinse Again. And Again.
Sometimes when I comb out my hair after washing it I notice that there is still some shampoo left in it. I have been washing my hair for over fifty years, so I’m wondering how this happens. I don’t rush through the rinsing process so what the heck is going…
Hue-man Sights
When I watch TV, it looks black and white to me. If the people on-screen aren’t familiar, I have no way of knowing what their skin color is. My inability to see race has not been lost on me over the past few years. I don’t have the answers to the…
The Circle Of Lies
When I was in my 20s and a healthcare professional would ask about my use of alcohol and its frequency, there was always an internal debate about whether or not to tell the truth. During my 30s and 40s it was easy and immediate to reply, “Yes. Occasionally. Currently in…
Taking Care
I’m one of those people who really takes good care of things and as a result they last a long time. I remember my mom saying this about me to others, how toys I outgrew looked like new even after countless hours of play. Last week I unpacked my hiking…
Tech Filtration
While texting the word “urine” this week, multiple times, auto-correct would always change it to “Heineken”. I knew that beer turns into pee but not the other way around. As for my reference to numerous texts regarding Heineken, I mean urine, with no explanation, consider it my homage to this month’s return…
And So I Carrie On
Taking more than a week off from blogging due to an onslaught of life’s insanity, I struggled a bit with how to return. Things have happened over the last few weeks that I’m not quite ready to talk about, or joke about. And then I saw this quote this morning…
”Tis National Aspirin Day
Each year December 26th greets me as if I was partying like it’s 2099 (I wasn’t) or the morning after a really bad blind date.
The Unsung Hero Of The Holidays: Tissue Paper
Do you remember when the shirt box was a big part of gift-giving? It was used for actual tops – velour anyone? – and bottoms too. If an item fit in a 14″ x 9″ -ish cardboard container it was going in. It would be lovingly placed in its packaging, cocooned in tissue…
Knowing Her, That’s The Gift She Wants
I love giving and unequivocally believe that it trumps (poor innocent word now forever gives pause before use) receiving. And to take it one step further, finding presents for my friends takes the fruitcake. And then in the midst of coffee at the diner and tissue and wrapping paper, bows and gift…
Sparks In The Bedrrom
Getting up before the sun came up, I brushed out my hair from its bedtime ponytail. In the darkness, as I put the brush back on the dresser, static electricity lit up the bristles. I am going to avoid cliches about things heating up in the bedroom. After all, I’ve…
That’ll Snow Me
The day after I hung my new “Merry Christmas” garden flag and brought this one in, this happened.
A Modern Christmas Ode
Seattle Seahawks Clinch NFC West Title Christmas Husband On Vacation Day Resulting In Three Days Of Togetherness Liquor Store **************************** Second Verse: Same As The First, etc.
Peace On Earth And Within Yourself
Peace fills your heart when you surrender to your strengths and let go of your weaknesses. – From Debbie Macomber’s Instagram
How Old Is That In Friend Years?
One of the (few) great things about getting older is that, if you’re lucky, you also see the large amount of years your friendships have endured. When it comes to my closest friends, who I all met in my 20s and 30s, it seems as if there was never a time they…
Computers Are Still Hacks
I know we aren’t yet at the point where computers take over the world because my iPhone still changes a certain word, on the rare occasion I use it, although the fact that it happens enough that I am blogging about it belies my frequency claim, to “ducking”. Unless, of…
Did He Dough It?
If someone were to get hit on the head by this would the M.E. consider the cause of death to be diabetes?
Decking My Heart
When I planned meetings for a living it became quickly apparent that it didn’t really matter the size of the event, the same exact steps in preparation had to be taken. Site selection, additional venues, food and beverage, audio-visual and tech needs: all had to be arranged. And so I…
Orange You A Little Orange?
Nectarine? Timer? Clementine? Mandarin? The only one I can identify by name is the timer.
Getting Old Is Not For Sissies-ter Rain
I have been waking up at 5 a.m. and therefore am falling asleep at 7:30 at night. Headed for bed last evening at 8:00 I realized that I am by all in-house accounts, old and decrepit. Every day a new ache or pain joins the grunt and groan inducing discomforts….
Top 5 Holiday Pet Hazards
Make sure the holidays stay festive and fun by keeping these threats out of your pet’s reach: Household decorations: Broken ornaments can cause lacerations, while accidentally ingested tinsel and ribbon can cause intestinal obstructions. Candles: Open flames + curious pets = disaster waiting to happen. Decorative lights: Even when turned…
Bloggy And Clyde
I am fully aware that law and order must exist if we are to maintain a civilized society. When I did drive, I slowed down when I saw a police officer. I’ve never gotten physical with anyone unless slugging an eight-year-old boy giving my second grade self her first kiss…
Parrontal Guidance Suggested
“Mommy! Mommy! I want to play!” “Why are those birds so angry?”
This Little Piggy Did Not Go To The Nail Salon
As I endeavor to keep my identity a secret, I do lose the option of including supporting photographic accoutrements to posts. So the challenge lies to me to paint a picture with my words, not unlike the people in my life must do for me since my vision loss. In…
Me And Yee
I read this morning that Kanye West’s current condition, whatever it may be, might have been triggered by the anniversary of his mother’s death. We really can find common ground with anyone.
O Christmas List
Although I am in my 50s (early!) I am still asked to provide a Christmas list each year. As much as I protest that I am a GROWN WOMAN, I must admit it does bring back the days of the Sears catalog*, flipping through every toy page, initially wanting everything…
Blind Date
Today is the four-year anniversary of my vision loss. As much as I am keeping extra busy today and trying not to think about it, it’s at the forefront of my mind. I was wondering to myself this morning why it is that dates have so much power over us?…
Black Friday Is The New Valentine’s Day
This is the first Black Friday in 25 years that my husband hasn’t gone to work. It’s a standing joke between us – or is it? – that I always want him working or anywhere other than home. Before you judge me, ask anyone my age and if they say they…
And Just Like That, It All Makes Sense
During today’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, I learned that the Pillsbury Doughboy sprung to life from a can of refrigerated dough in 1965. I was born in 1965 . . .
Gravy Plane
Seeing yet another Kardashian board a private plane to rush to their spouse’s side in an emergency left me thinking how ridiculously fortunate they are to have the funds to order a jet at a moment’s notice. Then I thought: Which came first? The crises or the money?
The Ouch Pouch*
Apparently now I am spontaneously exploding as a wound appeared out of nowhere on my body a few weeks ago. Some in my inner circle may infer it’s the evil coming out but I am happy to report that a medical professional was abl e to diagnose it as something…
Keep Calm And Carry Yourself
My husband loves to grocery shop and when I had my sight I was more than happy to let him go on his own. Since my vision loss, we go together on the weekend. I usually push the cart while he stands staring at the shelves waiting for the product…
Making A Mountain Out Of A Baseball Cap
The Arizona Snowbowl in Flagstaff is 11,500 feet in elevation. Piper climbed to the top like it was nothing.
Life Is A No-Fault Condition
When another person does something to us, they are held accountable. If it’s a criminal offense, legal steps can be taken. In issues that are moral, we hope that the person does the right thing. And we also should do the same. But what about the times that life does…
Changing It Up At The Alter
Any time I attend a wedding it transports me back to the day I got married. The flowers, the dress, everyone who loved us all in one place, our moms lighting two candles that we would unite into one, the way one rivulet of sweat ran down my husband’s face…
An Infectious Post
I’ve seen this on websites like TMZ: Life can be gross. The above on a sandwich board for those particularly oozy times is a must-have. I may or may not pusably be referring to my life right now. But just in case, wash your hands when you’re done reading this post.
A Jobless, Naked, Broke Person Walks Into A Blog
I recently heard someone ask themself who they are if they take away: what they do the clothes they wear their job title their bank account I couldn’t have imagined this question nor answered it before the loss of my sight. But since my visual impairment I have not only…
Piper At The Polls
I don’t think he is casting his vote – he didn’t poop on either candidate — but Piper is definitely as tired of this year’s presidential election as the rest of us. P
Womenopause
I remember girlfriends 25 years ago who were terrified that they might be pregnant. I don’t remember at-home pregnancy tests being an option but I don’t recall if that was because they didn’t exist, did exist but were too expensive or our parents might find it in our room or…
No Buublegum And A Paperclip, Just Old Age And A Colon
A padded envelope arrived for me in the mail this week. Some might argue it should have been a padded van, so sorry to disappoint. I was not expecting anything and I certainly could not have anticipated its contents: AN AT-HOME FECAL IMMUNOCHEMICAL TEST Turns out they call it “FIT”…
Pajama Poetry
I don’t wear pajamas to bed and I always feel a pang of jealousy when friends tell me they’ve stayed in their pj’s all day. Now before you get the wrong idea, I do wear something other than the sheets and blankets, equally as comfy as pajamas. Yet when I…
Do You Think Her Phone Is Made Of Gold?
No matter our diverse political views and convictions, we all can agree that this year’s presidential campaign is hard to believe, even with constant 24/7 advertisements, panel discussions, SNL (the saving grace and tonic to get us through), yard signs (which thankfully I can’t see), mailers, newspapers, the internet, and what I…
i.e., i.e., Oh!
I just heard my husband use “i.e.” in a sentence on the phone today. It stopped me cold, i.e. shivers, nausea, disbelief, pride, fear (who is this guy?). Mondays: Not the man you married anymore.
Revering Revere Ware
After ten years of loyalty to them, last night resulted in an unsatisfying go-round with TiVo’s technical and customer support and, therefore, we are severing ties and moving on. In other household item news, one of my favorite pots lost its handle due to old age. I thought that this…
Driven To Therapy
Since losing my vision I have had to rely on people to give me rides to appointments My husband, his mom and my closest friends are incredibly generous in shuttling me around. I am so grateful and never take a mile for granted. Although I don’t dwell on it, I…
Not Vicious But Confounding
We take a shower or bath. We get clean. We use a clean towel to dry ourselves. We hang up the towel to dry. Then, whatever our personal timeframe, we wash the towel. The aliens are laughing at us.
Sister Rain Want Antibiotics?
It’s silly, but in my defense I am a bird mom. Today I saw a new physician assistant at my doctor’s office. Her name was Polly.
My Big Earie October
You would think that spending a day in our local hospital, being transported to one of the nation’s top hospitals in Philadelphia via ambulance at midnight, a week’s stay at said hospital, having just about every medical test there is, including the reputation-precedes-it spinal tap or lumber puncture, your choice,…
Putting Up The Curtain On Our Marriage
A single woman in her 20s recently asked me the secret to a long and happy marriage. I thought it was cute she thinks my husband and I are happy. Next year we will be married 25 years and we have been through an awful lot together: unemployment, money worries,…
Fort-Unate Son
What little one doesn’t love a fort made out of sofa pillows on a dreary day?
Chim Chim Cher-ee
So today this happened: Well, there was only one. And he wasn’t dancing. And he didn’t speak cockney. Not nighttime either. No nanny flying via umbrella. But, oh, the songs and the dancing! My mom loved when Dick Van Dyke danced with the animated penguins. I actually think that began…
They’re Going To Throw The To Do List At Him
On Saturday morning my husband was making his weekend To Do list in his phone and asked me if I had anything I needed him to get done. I asked him to create a season pass on TiVo for the new HBO series, Divorce. I then said, “Nothing better happen to…
Neither Snow Nor Rain Nor Visual Impairment
On Saturday we needed to go to the post office to mail a package. As we pulled into the parking lot, I said to my husband, “I will go in.” This is unusual since my vision loss; when we are out and about and just running into a place, typically…
Pour Vision
I have quite an amazing no-spill record in the almost four years of my vision loss, if I do say so myself. I remember early on I knocked a glass over but I also did that when I could see properly. I remember one job where my co-workers wouldn’t let…
My Ringtone: Woman Cursing
Hanging a shower curtain is a pain in the aRMS (fooled ya, didn’t I?) and there is an added challenge when you can’t see too well. But it was time and so I ordered new liners, curtains and curtain rings and today was the day I would NOT put off…
Fire Prevention Week PSA (Personal Smoke Admonition)
A watched pot never boils nor does it fill the house with smoke. — Sister Rain
Clean Bill Of Rights
On Saturday we attended Parrot Palooza at the bird store where we purchase food and toys for Piper. It is a big, fun event that celebrates birds and their peeps. Upon entering the store, this was posted: Last night we took Piper to our avian vet for his annual checkup….
I Hope You Find This Post Gratifying
This weekend my husband and I pulled together some information to send to a local Civil War expert we had met In May and who had offered to look into two of my great-great-grandfathers who I believe were Union soldiers. This morning, using all the data we have collected, I…
ATTENTION NEW JERSEY ADJACENT BIRD PARRONTS!!!
Tired of going to pet stores and having to search for the tiny bird section amidst aisles and shelves crammed with dog and cat products? Have no fear, Parrot Palooza is here! Leave your feathered friend at home but bring your phone so you can show everyone your birdie baby’s/birdies’…
VCP (Visually Challenged Perception)
Giving career advice to a great friend, we discussed how difficult it is to think clearly when you are in the thick of life’s curveballs the size of those exercise stability balls. She went on to say that, in this situation, I could see what she couldn’t. This gave us…
There’s No “I” In Strong
Why is it, even with the perspective that comes with the passage of time, are we able to recognize strength in others, but not in ourselves?
Bye Bye Birdie
Russell Wilson, the Quarterback for my husband’s (and mine by marriage) beloved Seattle Seahawks, has gotten pretty banged up in the first few games of this season. As you can see in the photo above, everyone seems to be gunning for him. This week the Seahawks have a bye, so…
Hail To Us
On this day in 1992, Barack and Michelle Obama were married. On January 20, 2009 they became President and First Lady of the United States of America. On this day in 1992, my husband and I were married. On January 20, 2009, I don’t know for sure because it’s not…
Sunday Night Stretching
I made us my specialty for dinner tonight: Pennsylvania Dutch chicken pot pie. It’s like a stew with chicken, carrots, potatoes and bot boi noodles in a flavorful broth. I haven’t made it since the weather was cooler in the spring as the kitchen can get really hot and it’s…
If It Looks Like A Bell, Smells Like A Bell And Tastes Like A Bell . . .
. . . You’re Probably Doing This
Sister Rain Unleashed
I saw this line from a poem in the book I was reading and googled it to find its origin. It’s from a poem titled, “Lilacs In September” by Katha Pollitt. Here is what stopped me in my tracks: What will unleash itself in you when your storm comes? I…
Blind Spot
If I had a dollar for every time I reached down to pick something off the floor only to find that it’s a sun spot and not an actual thing, I would have an average of $3/week to go along with my strong legs and abs from all the bending….
1/4 Moisturizing Cream, 100% Nana
I have always had an exceptional sense of smell and I do believe it has become even stronger since my vision left the building. There is debate – no, not THAT debate – as to whether or not that is really a thing, but it seems to be the case, well, in…
Bouncing Into Autumn
With one move of the second hand Summer is now fall Why is it that pumpkins Look just like basketballs?
Wax On, Wax Out Of Here
I had thought about blogging about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s split but was afraid of being too predictable and maybe a little vulturesque, circling and picking at the remains of a family. After all, there are children involved, a half-dozen in fact. It would be in poor taste to…
The Study Of The Oblivioushusbandasaurus
Every night when my husband comes to bed he brings along a bottle of water. Each morning, he places the empty bottle on our dresser and then on Saturday he takes them all down to the recycling bin. I work out five to six times a week in our bedroom…
It Was Hair A Minute Ago
I don’t know who Bobby is but since my vision loss I spend an awful lot of time looking for his pin.
It’s Not All About The Dismount
Sixteen-year-old gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez is on the new season of Dancing With The Stars. After her first dance of the competition on Monday night, host Tom Bergeron asked the seasoned performer if she was nervous to do the show. She replied that after working eleven years to…
It’s A Healthy Baby Football Season!
I liken the return of football to childbirth. In February, in the last seconds of the Super Bowl, the realization sets in that the five-month season is over. This awareness can bring pain and sadness and complete despair over how will the off-season be survived? Depending where you live, you…
Remembering 9/11
While out running errands yesterday, my husband was telling me about the Texas mattress store whose online ad used mattresses to depict the Twin Towers on 9/11 and the severe backlash they received. I, personally, felt sick to my stomach upon hearing about it. He also relayed to me the story of the…
The Sole Of Love
Today I heard someone say that love means being there for the other person through good times and bad. A simple concept and one we have all heard before. Usually, though, it’s part of the definition of love but today it was declared the sole meaning. Love is so many…
Caution! Flammable And Explosive Technology!
Sitting here with two iPads and an iPhone you would think I was up to something big, something groundbreaking. In truth I am trying to move some photos around amongst two different users and their iClouds. Not rocket science, but a representation of the world we live in today. It…
Intruding Thoughts
Last night, I awoke around 3 a.m. and had to use the restroom. Mission accomplished, I was almost back to our closed bedroom door when it was opened. My husband jumped and let out an ohmygod! simultaneously. I was not startled, but completely amused. I asked, “Didn’t you notice I wasn’t in bed?”…
This Blog Is About To Get Fresh
I am in the throes of ecstasy. Relax, this is a family blog. The pleasure to which I’m referring is produce-related. I just made it worse, didn’t I? Let’s get back on track. Fresh corn on the cob, watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes and now peaches. Oh, the peaches. I will admit…
It’s Not The Sweating It’s The Swearing
The humidity here in Southeastern Pennsylvania has been brutal this summer. We live in a perpetual state suffocation when we step outside as the thickness surrounds us and makes it hard to breathe. We take showers only to start sweating again from the minor exertion of drying off. Doing our…
Corrupt Visual Situation
While at CVS downloading photos from my phone to print, I noticed to my right a woman waiting to use the kiosk, looking something like this: Upon my second glance, I realized that this is what was really there: Crazy, right? Keep in mind that I don’t see color, my…
Fourever
Four years ago today, we brought Piper home from the rescue. He was a different bird back then, defensive and sometimes aggressive. He had been through a lot in his six years prior to our meeting, having been surrendered to the rescue by his previous family who could no longer…
It’s A Bird…It’s A Plane…It’s Sister Rain
Someone asked me yesterday what my super power would be. Without hesitation I said, “sight”. X-ray vision? 20/20 will do NICELY. Ability to fly? Driving a car again is the only method of transport I need. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound? Being able to see the depth of a…
Daymare
If we had dreams while we were awake, they’d be called hallucinations. — Sister Rain
It Sure Beats The Alternative
Last Christmas my husband gave me wireless Beats headphones. When I lost my ability to read, I started listening to a lot of talk radio to fill the immense void left behind when reading books was no longer possible, Also, not so much anymore, but in the early days of…
“Hey, Siri. Define ‘humanity’.”
At the Apple Store today I was introduced to the tech who would assist me. I’m going to be honest, SisterRain.net’s promise to you, and tell you that at first glance I was disappointed. My specialist, let’s call her Steph as an homage to Steve Jobs, was older than all…
Olympic R-ambl-INGS
The commentators were talking about an athlete who had competed in a previous Olympics and at the time this particular diver was 16 and weighed 70 lbs. I remarked to my husband that my one thigh weighs 70 lbs. at which he responded by performing a medal round coughing fit…
It’s Easy Being Green But Hard Getting Old
On the evenings before trash pickup day, you can tell who are the party animals on our street by the clinking of beer bottles in their recycling containers as they are taken to the curb. You may not know the brand but you know which of the neighbors had a…
Nothing! Nothing! Nothing!
As children we are taught that if we have nothing nice to say we should say nothing at all. What I wasn’t told, because blogs didn’t exist when I was a kids, is that if you don’t have anything at all to say then don’t have a blog. On a…
Does This Strike You As Odd?
We took our nephew to Cooperstown, New York last week. It is a town that is everything baseball, baseball and more baseball, everywhere. Then why, in our really nice hotel, was this on the bathroom counter?
Who Gives This Woman To Be Married? Her Father And I Do
I have been away on vacation, the pace of which allowed for no time or brain space for blogging. I am back home, feeling unsettled on how to return to SisterRain.net. Do I begin with the oppressive heat here in Pennsylvania? Tales from the trip? The reunion with my beloved…
Sister Rain Henge
Working to tidy up our spare bedrooms, I found myself uncovering relics from a previous era of my life. Suitcases that were put into action every month, a laptop wheelie bag that accompanied me to the office and the plane, business clothing, crafts and other projects from before my vision…
For Squeaky Doors And Cuts That Are Sore
While out running errands this morning I kept thinking that when I get home I needed to put WD-40 on a cut on my finger. Yes, you read me right. WD-40. I would correct myself but I continued to think WD-40 in my head instead of Neosporene. It’s hard not to…
Dear Debbie (Macomber):
Dear Debbie: I have been reading your books for as long as you’ve been writing them and once I get one in my hands, well, what vacuuming and making dinner? A few years ago I woke up to find myself blind. There was no warning, no diagnosis to let me…
Specialty Of The House: Laughter
We have a busy week and so I have planned quick meals for dinner. I now share with you the conversation that took place this morning as I ate my breakfast and my husband prepared to leave for work: Me: Stouffer’s lasagna okay for dinner tonight? Him: Sure. Me: (jokingly) Great. One…
A Vicious Spin Cycle
Even though I am home during the week, I still do laundry on the weekend. The habits of 25+ years of working die hard. Yesterday afternoon, while folding the wash, I was hit by deja vu and struck by the thought that we have clocks and calendars on our mobile devices,…
Easy, Breezy, Beautiful
All relationships require work, but I was thinking today how my closest friendships are easy. That doesn’t mean we aren’t committed to each other or that we don’t put effort into making time to spend together. We also use the awesome technology available to us to keep in constant touch….
Give Me Enough Rope . . .
Do you find it odd that I asked my husband to cut me 10′ of rope and he didn’t ask why? As you can see, he cut it. No questions asked. (Rope may appear in different formation than originally provided due to author’s right to poetic license.)
Worse Than A Worm
One bad apple don’t spoil the whole bunch. But one Apple device issue ruins my day.
Strangers In The Night
Every few months I have a dream that someone is standing over me while I am in bed. It is so scary and the nightmare jolts me into instant awakedness. It takes a long time for the pounding of my heart to calm down and for the rest of me…
All Charged Up
Wouldn’t it be great if we all had a low battery indicator alerting others when our energy was depleted and all systems were soon to shut down? Disagreements and health issues could be averted if we were presented with data that we were in need of a recharge. Some people…
The End
When I finish a really good book, I am sad that what happens next to the characters I have connected with is unknown to me. Even though my criteria for a great read includes a complete wrap-up of storyline, I am not ready to leave the people or the places…
The Bog Before The Blog
If this is a blog, and this is America so everything is debatable, but let’s go with the assumption that it is, its pre-production is a bog. I’m going to give you a few minutes here because I am sure that the fact that anything at all happens before I…
Calf Stretch In Aisle 4
You know you’re Type A when you do your physical therapy exercises for your knee at the grocery store. *************************** While loking for a funny picture to include in this post I stumbled upon this website, squeezeitin.com. No joke, Raindrops!
Unidentified Visually-Challenged Object
Sometimes I feel so very different amongst my family and friends and when I’m out in the world having a meal or shopping. I don’t know anyone with reduced vision such as mine or anyone with a disability (to which I add “thankfully”). Everyone else around me can see and…
Sister Humidity
I am thinking of changing my name to Sister Humidity, at least for the summer months. It is hot and gross and the significant impact on my life is what has led me to the decision to adjust my moniker accordingly. Since I’m so busy melting, I won’t be changing…
Four Months of NoFL
We are in the heart of summer, the humidity close to 100%. We are in the throes of shorts, flip-flops and little league baseball. We are missing Olivia Pope and Sheldon Cooper. And then, out of nowhere, my husband provides two statistics about training camp and opening day. I sort of…
The Scoop On Poop
Oprah once said that pooping is the great equalizer. “Everybody poops”, she proclaimed. I don’t agree with everything that comes out of Oprah’s mouth, but I do think she nailed it in regard to what emerges from our other end. I have told myself this when I’ve felt intimidated by someone which, thankfully,…
Looking Back Through Blue-Colored Glasses
I began wearing glasses for nearsightedness in junior high and progressed to contacts in my early 20s. Since my vision loss, I don’t use any type of lenses because there is no prescription that will help me see better. I do wear special non-prescription blue-tinted sunglasses when out in the sun….
I’m Going To Need A Gift Receipt
My mom-in-law’s birthday is this month and over the weekend I mentioned to my husband that I have a gift idea for the occasion. We got sidetracked and never finished the conversation. Then yesterday, the following text discussion occurred: My husband: So what was your idea for Mom? Me: I don’t…
Bad Feather Day
If anyone is entitled to the morning after, it’s this guy: Hope you celebrated this amazing country’s birthday as hard as he did.
Upgrade Downcast
Preparing for a new cell phone has always been a big deal for me. Traumatic even. I rely on my phone in a way that belies my age; I would pit my usage numbers up against a teenager’s any day. Since my vision loss, any new element in my life…
Back In E Day
Back in E day . . . my husband and I had Philadelphia Flyers’ season tickets. Back in E day . . . we would make the two-plus hour round trip to the arena a couple times each week to attend games, arriving home after midnight. Back in E day ….
Monday’s Monotonous Miles
Especially on a Monday, my daily ride on my exercise bike feels like a representation of my life in general: working hard, pedaling through the pain and fatigue, sweating, trying to think about ANYTHING except what is happening, wishing I was somewhere else, pushing myself to beat the competition that…
For What So Proudly He Stands
My husband is very supportive of me. He was when I travelled and worked long hours for my career and has been by my side from the moment I told him I couldn’t see out of my right eye. But today I saw his most demonstrative encouragement, when he stood up…
Veggie Grinder
We all have heard that a vegan lifestyle is a far healthier choice when it comes to what we put in our bodies. Of course, there are multiple arguments to despute this, but I have made an unsolicited discovery: Peeling and chopping vegetables is a cardio workout! While prepping the…
To Do Today
Every few months it works out that I go directly from seeing my therapist to a hair appointment. The therapy I refer to here is someone I talk to about all that has happened over the last three years. She helps me sort through my thoughts and feelings about my…
Time Flies, Unless You’re An Hour Early
I always have my calendar in order and always on time for things. If you’re not early, you’re late. But for some reason, I keep mixing up my physical therapy appointments for my knee. I go twice a week and the times are not the same for each session and…
She’s Had Some “Dental Work” Done
After over a year’s search for someone to assist me, my baby, my blog (not my baby, my bird, Piper), has undergone multiple operations. She came through them all like a champ. There is still some swelling and some home care needed, but she is resting comfortably in her new…
Fear Of The Known
They don’t know what caused my optic neuritis even though I was tested for every malady the doctors have ever heard of. It’s nice to know that other than severe visual impairment, I’m perfectly healthy. I don’t think I will ever know how this happened and honestly, at this point,…
How Do He Know?
I am fully aware that Big Brother is watching, monitoring my every move. If I search for items on Amazon, these same products show up in the form of ads as I surf around other non-shopping sites. Although unsettling, there is no mystery to even the newest and least savvy…
Orlando
To many of us, Orlando is synonymous with Disney World, they are one and the same. It is a place that if not ever visited, leaves you feeling left out of a special club, perhaps a pseudo version of The Mickey Mouse Club. I finally joined on my honeymoon and…
He’s Not Even A Teenager Yet!
My bird/son has barricaded himself in this box. Awaiting his demands . . .
I’m Not Picking Up What I’m Laying Down
A few of my friends are going through some difficult times and I offer love and support as best as I can. Without premeditation, I find myself suggesting thoughts and ideas to hopefully help them with their situations. I always think about what I have said to them and most…
Love In The First Degree Burns
Your morning coffee burning the roof of your mouth and your tongue is like your best friend slapping you. It hurts. But I would forgive before the sting was gone.
Family Friends
When we wed, the saying goes that you are not only marrying your spouse, but also their family. I believe this is very true but I have recently become aware of another branch of the family. As I have written about repeatedly on this blog, I have an amazing group…
Same Blog, New Chapter
Having just moved this blog from Blogger to WordPress, I wonder if birds feel as frustrated, confused and full of regret after their migration.
All About That Bass And There’s Going To Be Trouble
After threatening for days via dark skies and hyperactive meteorologists, rain has finally arrived, bringing some cooler temperatures. Windows are open where covered and protected from the showers, and it’s a wonderful and welcome change from the summer tradition of The Running of the Air Conditioners. Someone nearby has been…
A Normal Story
On a TV show we were watching, someone asked others to tell one story about themselves that would provide insight into who they are as a person. So I asked my husband what his story would be. There was dead silence and since I am unable to see his facial…
Code Red
For the epitome of having just enough knowledge to be dangerous, let me introduce you to:HellToMyLife The good news for you is that it’s only a threat to me and my already precipice-dangling sanity and my beautiful new iPad Pro. Must go search for app that will allow the device…
Piper’s DiSPAppointing Day
“That body scrub was a little aggressive!” “Mani-pedi, please!” “How could they miss a nail? I only have eight and my hands and feet are one and the same!” “What kind of two-seed operation is this? I have been waiting an hour for my blowout!” I am fairly certain the…
I AM
My husband and I watched the Invictus Games a few weeks ago and we were very captivated by the fierce competition, the camaraderie of the athletes and the incredibly moving personal stories of the men and women of the Games. The Invictus Games, if you aren’t familiar, are an International Paralympic-style…
Star-Spangled Purchase
Today at Walmart, as is usually the case, the check-out lines were long. As I held my post with the cart in one possible queue, my husband went on a recognizance mission to possibly uncover a shorter line. He called for me to join him at his new locale, and…
Two Hot Dogs Keeping Their Cool
They say that most couples fight about sex and money. We have neither so we don’t argue about those two subjects. What we do disagree about are a few things that come up over and over again. For 26 years. One of the regulars, although seasonal, is air conditioners. Ours…
Truth Is Harder Than Inspiration
I love an inspiring story as much as the next gal. Always have. Since my vision loss, there is more poignancy and gravity in everything that touches my life. Learning of a person rising above their obstacles now speaks to me in a way it never could have before my…
Consider This Blog A Teenage Boy’s Bedroom
Well, Raindrops, here’s the thing. I was going to tell you about some of the work I have been doing behind the scenes to improve this blog but then it hit me. “Behind the scenes” is code for we’ve got a real mess on our hands and we don’t want…
They Once Were Lost But Now Are Found, I’m Blind But With Them I See
My ten-year-old nephew plays on several baseball teams and my husband and I go to as many games as we can. Since the sudden death of my father-in-law, we feel it’s even more important than ever for us to be there to cheer him on. PopPop and my nephew were…
Cirque du Strappay
The only thing determining whether you can pull yourself up by your bootstraps is the strength of the bootstrap. And guess who’s the strap?
The Doctor’s Office Of The Brave
I decided to finally have my knee looked at by an orthopedist. He examined my angry patella area and x-rays were taken. And then the doctor gave me the results: You have arthritis. I didn’t cry.It’s significant. I didn’t cry.It’s in both knees. I didn’t cry. He gave me a steroid…
Hello world!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
Raindrops Keep Falling On My Blog
I like to think of my readers as dear friends and using the term “Dear Readers” is so impersonal. I think you deserve a name a la Lady Gaga’s Little Monsters and the Seahawks’ 12th Man. Actually you deserve monetary compensation for coming here but you’re going to have to settle…
Game Changed, Rage Same
For my birthday I received an iPad Pro from my husband. It is 12″ iOS in size which helps me see content so much better and there are many options available in Settings for those of us with low vision. When he handed me this gift, my husband said. “I…
Crapft
You might think that being 50 with no children in the house and making boxed macaroni and cheese is sad. Or maybe the fact that I’m admitting it is sadder. But I assure you the saddest part is this: not being able to see the neon orange color once it’s…
Warning! This Post Is Pastorized
Always looking for insight into how people both think about and cope with tragedy, I asked a friend with a wonderful pastor what this minister has to say about bad things happening to good people. Without hesitation, my friend said that Pastor D believes that no matter what a person…
TURN It On And Enjoy
I am obsessed with this show! It’s on AMC on Monday nights at 10 p.m. here on the East Coast. The third season started a few weeks ago and seasons 1 and 2 are available on DVD and Netflix. If you love American history and a great period drama, this…
A Bird In The Hand
In addition to being visually challenged, I also find myself at a hand deficit. There is often a comfy and/or sleepy parrot on one of my hands. You would think that for someone like me, Type A and maybe even A+, this would be an annoyance, a burden. But what…
Wishful Blogging
As long as my friends and family are in good health and doing well in the rest of their lives, then I never have to think about my wish. One hope, one dream, one prayer, one must-have this season and all those to come. It is: the full restoration of my…
Hopey Birthday For Me
Big birthday weekend for me. I only say “big” because the number is going up, faster and faster, like the Mad Tea Party ride at Disney World once you get it really spinning. And equally nausea-inducing. A birthday dinner at a Chinese restaurant ended with the traditional fortune cookie, a…
Knee-ly Done With This, I Promise
I apologize for yet another post about my knee, but honestly, the pain is all I can think about. Like when you tie your shoes too tight. I had a friend who swore that being laced passed the point of comfortable could give you a headache. Got ya thinking, don’t…
Talk About A Vicious Cycle
I have never liked working out but I do it. It’s the longest hour of my day and I determined a long time ago that when they made me they forgot the endorphins. So, why is it that the only time my torn knee ligament DOESN’T hurt is when I ride the…
Cuddle(90)grams
When Piper came to us almost four years ago from a bird rescue, he was aggressive and always on alert. He was most likely going to bite you if you put out your finger for him to step up. This picture is from yesterday. I was reading a book using…
A Kneed For Support . . . And Pants!
Having my husband constantly telling me to put my knee brace on for my ligament tear reminds me of my sister-in-law telling my nephew to wear his retainer. You see, it’s difficult for me to pull anything on over the bulky brace, hence the reason my husband of 23 years…
Oo-rouch!
Pain is weakness leaving the body.* — U.S. Marine Corps Still dealing with a knee ligament tear and the pain continues to wear me down and . . . well, hurt. All info from my doctor and my medical degree (self awarded after internet research induced self diagnosis of any…
This One Takes The Cake
Setting: Saturday morning breakfast with a group my husband belongs to. Spouses included. The conversation was lively. Seated next to me was a couple new to the club and they were understandably quiet, but still engaged in the chatter and laughter. About an hour in, the wife turns to me: Woman: “What…
Not Quite Back In The Saddle Again
With my mom’s illness in 2012 which resulted in her death, followed by my vision loss a few months later, then my husband’s cardiac crisis after that and next my father-in-law’s sudden passing, I’ve let some things go as far as my health checks but am finally getting everything poked…
‘Twas The Middle Of The Night
Twas the middle of the night And nothing could be heard We all were deeply snoozing My husband, me and the bird. The clock on the nightstand Showed just before three When the silence was shattered What could it be? I awoke right away My heart pounding in fear My…
Good Morning And Good Night, People
I started my day with a cup of McDonald’s coffee (my favorite) that my husband went and got for me, and my new issue of People magazine. As I have previously written about, I can enlarge everything in the digital version to sizes that I can see. Click here for that post….
A Tony Award Winner And A Greek Philosopher Walk Into A Blog
I recently heard someone say they need time in their head and they aren’t sure that would be possible if they were a parent. Never having had children, I can’t be sure, but I’m thinking if you want kids you have them and like all else in life you figure…
If You’re Gonna Cop A ‘Tude, Cop This One
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance,chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast,a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. — Melody Beattie
Painful Choices
Struggling with a painful knee and elbow the past two weeks, I finally saw the doctor today. Turns out I have tendonitis up top and a strained MCL down below. What happened, you ask? A fall? A car accident? A contact sport? What happened is I turned 50 which really…
Pluck Exercise
I just plucked a stubborn chin hair while riding the exercise bike. And here I’ve been thinking that I have no life.* * I have been feeling down the last few days, missing my old life so much the only defense is to shut down so I don’t feel the pain….
Be Kind
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. — In wanting to give credit where it’s due, I discovered that there is controversy as to who said it first. They are, in my opinion, words to live by.
Sad Tuesday
Down today, the prevailing thought is this: How an I to play the hand I’ve been dealt when I can’t see it?
AC2 VIP WOW!
This Saturday night, my husband and I spent the evening with two of my favorites. During the two-hour show, AC 360 and Bravo Andy shared stories that only the best of friends have and we laughed so hard my face still hurts two days later. Afterwards, we got to meet…
chIDOLhood
Last night I watched the series finale of American Idol and enjoyed every minute of it. It was fun to see all the contestants from previous seasons. Back then I was as young as them. But I really wasn’t. When the show started I was 37. Hardly a kid and yet…
A Perfect Storm
I have always been a perfectionist. It’s in my DNA, my father was the same. I remember rewriting homework while in elementary school because it didn’t look good enough to me. Now 50, nothing has changed in this regard except the homework, thank goodness. What is it they say? That…
#heartfeltgratitude
Today we received unexpected news from my husband’s cardiologist that his heart pump number has improved. Two and a half years after a virus attacked his heart we thought that this function had plateaued. We were wrong and never so happy to be so. He has done great since the…
Keep Your Friends Close And Your Enemy In The Breadbox
Superman and Lex Luther.Batman and The Joker.The Hatfields and McCoys.Sister Rain and Twist Ties. The great foe of my life is not blindness but a tiny wire wrapped in plastic that keeps my bread fresh. It packs a double punch every time I want a piece of toast or should…
SisterRainhood Of The Many Maladies
In my closest circle of girlfriends, everyone is experiencing age-related physical problems. We are all in our 50s, although I am the youngest (love you, gurls), and we are, quite frankly, falling apart. Collectively, we have female problems, intestinal issues, funky looking skin areas, bad knees, bad feet, bad shoulder,…
Inconceivable
Since my vision prohibits me from driving, getting transportation to appointments can be a challenge as I wrote about in the post Hair Traffic Control. I have several friends who so generously and lovingly offer their driving skills and I have learned to accept with what I hope is graciousness and great…
Look Hoot’s An Early Bird Now, Mom
A lot of things go haywire with our bodies as we age and I get that. Parts wear out after years and years of use and let’s be honest: abuse. We don’t like it but we can understand it. What is perplexing to me is how a staunch night owl…
Piper The Conure And The Blustery Night
Last night I slept on the love seat to be with Piper if the strong, constant wind, which still hasn’t let up the following afternoon, frightened him. My little guy did fine, he is tough after living in at least four different states, as part of another family for four…
A Letter To The Eggitor
Dear Peeps:Well, another Easter has come and gone. The eggs have all been found and I have eaten so many carrots even my whiskers have turned orange; it is not a good look. The kids are happy and the parents are exhausted as they are after every holiday. Was it me…
My Reality
In a year’s time I watch about twenty reality shows. They include Southern California housewives, quite a few short people shows, boy band families, cheerleaders and couples who are meeting for the first time at the alter. And while my only shame of them all, I will not apologize: anything…
Seeing What I Couldn’t See Before
This morning I had an early doctor visit, not vision related. The doctor asked me about my vision and how I am getting along. When I got home, I was thinking about the appointment and her question. Suddenly I pictured myself in that doctor’s office, totally blind and finding my…
Why Does This Woman Write This Blog?
To Come Out On The Other Side I have always been inspired by people who have suffered the loss of a part of their physical selves and have not let that stop them from doing what they love. They appear to be more whole than any of us. Bethany Hamilton,…
Slow Cooking, Fast Learning
I am a crock-pot girl. Yeah, that’s right. A crock-pot girl. I try to make at least one meal each week in the slow cooker. As I was peeling and cutting carrots and potatoes at 7 a.m. this morning, I thought: this is a lot of work! I’ve always been…
Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, We Really Should Be Snow
My friend has a nasty cough that has been keeping her up at night so she has been taking NyQuil. My right eye has been itching me horribly since dinner time yesterday due to allergies. I wanna pop it out, lick it and put it back in. Gross, but a…
Resuming The Resume
I met someone recently whose company may have a job opportunity for me. I still don’t know where I belong professionally, only that I need to get involved in something vision loss-related. This possibility fits that bill. It is surreal to the billionth degree to be dusting off my resume…
Fifty Ain’t Nifty
Dear Universe:Since I am unable to pluck my eyebrows because of my vision, I get them waxed when I get my hair done. Since I am 50 3/4, I also have my “upper lip” waxed. My stylist calls it “upper lip” but we all know it’s a MUSTACHE.I can deal…
IF YOU ARE LOW VISION, I BEG YOU TO READ THIS
TattooI must share with you something I recently found out about that could, quite possibly, change your life in the most wonderful way if you have low vision as do I. It is eSight eyewear. eSight works for legally blind and low vision people suffering from many different eye conditions including:…
Hundredsie Is The New Onesie
I would like to petition for a name change of the onesie. I propose the name “hundredsie” to reflect the amount of aahing that went on at the baby shower I attended yesterday with the unwrapping of each and every little hundredsie. Here is my favorite of the day:
Piper Wants Some Gandhi
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progresscan be judged by the way it treats its animals.” — Mahatma Gandhi
No Height Restrictions For This Ride
I have heard people say that they aren’t ride people or that they don’t do roller coasters. The fact is, we all ride a roller coaster whether we want to or not. Starting fresh out of the womb, our parents lovingly strap us in, and we ride until our last…
If You Love Her Then You Have To Put Her Rings On You
When my mom passed away in 2012, her mom’s wedding rings became mine. My nana, as I called her, was married in the 1920’s to my pop pop and they were together for over 50 years until his death. I have always been a believer in displaying or using things…
I Haven’t Feathered My HaIr Since The 80’s
You know you’re visually impairedwhen you know that your bird is downstairs with your husband but you round the corner into the bathroom and you think your hair dryer is your bird.
“JUST” Is A Four-Letter Word
I recently met an acquaintance of my husband’s and as we chatted, her recent heart attack and my vision loss came up. We exchanged our medical summaries and our current cardiac and optic status, respectively. She told me her story first, then I followed suit. After I explained that I…
Thank Goodness It’s Not Brussels Sprouts!
This is Bassetts Ice Cream located in the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. Their ice cream is the best ice cream I have ever had and always a part of visits to see my Nana when she was alive and/or any trip to the city. Although they offer many flavors…
A Premium 6 Ply Friendship
My friend and I were at CVS pharmacy picking up diapers and prescription medications. I commented to her that in another twenty years we will be picking up the same. The medications will still be for us but then the diapers will be too (as opposed to for her grandson)….
Taking A Load Off, Literally
There is no doubt in my mind that the couch in my therapist’s office isn’t for her clients but for her to lay down when we leave. And it has to be something much stronger than coffee in that mug. #haveyouhuggedyourtherapisttoday
Big And Quick
No, this is most certainly NOT about my long ago wedding night! Nor is it a new country duo. I recently heard someone say that big things in life tend to happen quickly. It gave me pause and without much thought I tended to agree. Thinking about it further, not so…
Keep Your Monster Close Blut Yourself Closer
When I was a kid, I never worried about what may be hiding in the closet or under the bed. Now, however, the monster lurks. The demon lays dormant as I fall asleep at the beginning of the night, but if I wake up hours before dawn, it is there….
Incredibly Profound Emails
Amid the emails from stores promoting their sales, two messages conveying the most opposite ends of life’s spectrum. The first, an update on a family friend with terminal cancer. He is at home and in his final hours. A request for prayers that his grown children make it home in…
An ABSolute Revelation
I am pretty sure that people who are in shapedon’t burp chocolate while doing sit-ups.
Advertisement Ailments
The amount of crap daytime television programs is only outmatched by the awful commercials. Today I saw the following, all during one break, in this order: Clinical Trial for Schizophrenia Medication California Walnuts Psoriasis Medication Ulcerative Colitis Medication Democrats @ South Carolina Town Hall Meeting Tonight Oscars I have empathy…
Monday’s Worth
A friend texted me this morning that she was about to begin painting one of the rooms in her house, an undertaking no one I know looks forward to. She said she keeps telling herself it will be worth it when it’s done. I replied: That’s how I feel about everything…
Mammogram Service Announcement
In Tuesday’s post, Fear In 3D, I wrote about the trepidation I felt in regard to my next day’s mammogram, my first in five years. The actual test was easy and painless. I was going to document the events that followed the day after, but wanted this post to be more…
I Have The Fitness Goals Of A Celebrity
“I have to work out just to look fat. That’s the problem.” – Will Ferrell on Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee Click here to watch the episode
Fear In 3D
So, tomorrow I have my first mammogram in over five years. I know, I know. I have been so focused on what is going on with my optic nerves that my lady parts have taken a back seat. That’s the truth. And it’s also an excuse. New year, new excuses,…
The Sweetest Place On Earth
My Christmas GiftFrom My Best Friend: Overnight Trip Hershey, Pennsylvania Happy Hour Winter Mule (left) and Sparkling Winter Fizz (right) Delicious Dinner and Dessert All at The Mill Beautiful and Historuc Building Great Atmosphere Outstanding Service Kathy Griffin Hershey Theater She Was On Fire From Her First Word And Didn’t Stop…
Clothes Encounters Of The Husband Kind
I have never been a fan of clothes shopping but when my mom was alive we made it fun. A store dressing room is one of the places I miss her the most. Even though it’s never been my favorite thing to do, I have a great professional wardrobe lying…
Blood Work And A Cocktail
No, this is not the title of the 2030 Sex & The City movie, but my plans for today. I need to get blood drawn for an upcoming doctor’s appointment and my friend is taking me. After, we will go have adult beverages with a side of lunch. The drink of the day?…
Hair Traffic Control
Whenever I miss my career as a corporate meeting planner, all I have to do is try to get rides to a hair appointment. The logistics of a 500-person meeting, with attendees traveling from all over the world, were less stressful and less challenging than finding someone to take me to my…
Love Thy Neighbor
I live in a 100-year-old house that we call a twin. I know in some areas of the country this means something different, but here it means we share a wall with one other house. Our neighbors were here when we moved in over 20 years ago and we love…
I Write, Therefore I Am
Earlier this week I struggled to write my blog and as I went about my everyday chores, “writer’s block” kept coming to mind. When it did, I actually said to myself, in my head, You’re not a writer! You just have a blog. Real writers are offended and insulted by bloggers who think they can…
Blog Blocks
For the last two days I have been struggling to write blog entries. In all the tine I have been blogging,I have never experienced this before. With nothing new to build on, I went to my cache of ideas that I always keep adding to and developing. I found that…
People Who Read People
I have always loved pop culture and read People magazine for as long as I can remember When I initially lost my sight, I was cut off from my phone, the internet, Twitter, pretty much the entire world except family and friends and medical professionals. Then as I learned more about…
My Heart Has Wings
A bar of soap, a medium tomato,a small box of paper clips and a dinner forkall weigh about 100 grams. The human heart weighs 310 grams or 11 ounces. My heart weighs 90 grams or 3 ounces.
A Life Lesson Found In The Snow
Just because the storm is over doesn’t mean there still isn’t shoveling to do. — Sister Rain (1/26/16)
Beauty In Duty
There is no doubt about it, the weekend blizzard was large and in charge. The coverage was everywhere and I’m going to admit it, we were riveted to the local TV coverage as well as The Weather Channel. Social media reporting was not to be left behind and there was…
Blizzard Blog
Q: If it looks so pretty and is only 26 degrees then why am I in HELL? A: Three hours of shoveling.
Jonas Is Coming! Jonas Is Coming!
This winter we have only one snowfall and it was a powdered sugar dusting. Therefore, last night was preparation time. As we carried in shovels and rock salt from the garage, and stored outside decorations, I realized: THIS IS WAR! Ammunition: check! My husband stopped at the store last night…
Woof!
I always have a daily To Do List, and being the Type A, anal retentive nutball that I am, I even include the fun things I want to do, for example, reading. I work through the list methodically and I’ve realized something: I am Pavlov’s dog! I workout. Then I…
The Amazing Marriage
Binge watching the latest season of The Amazing Race with my husband, playing along, strategizing (who would eat the roasted cockroach? him, who would do the puzzles? me, who would bungee jump? him – I don’t like the recoil effect, who would dance? me), one thing is clear: It’s amazing we ever got together….
Innocence Lost, And The Big Game Too
The innocence of youth is really something to behold. Our 10-year-old nephew has been converted to a Seahawks fan by my husband. Yesterday we all were majorly disappointed that our team’s season is over but our nephew took it the hardest. He became very quiet and I could tell that…
If You’re Not Early You’re Late
A dear friend and I go to breakfast every other week before she goes to work. We live close by to each other and a diner, so she picks me up at 7 a.m. and I am back home at 8 o’clock. We get to enjoy the most important meal…
Forecast: Cheshire Cat Grins
If there has ever been a happier group of people than local weather forecasters when the first snow finally hit our region of Pennsylvania on January 12th, then I would like to meet them.
I Do Like And I Don’t Like It
I was watching something on TV and was so irritated by twenty-something women constantly using “like”. It literally was nails-on-a-chalkboard to me. These women were very well-spoken except for the continual use of this word. After changing the channel, I forgot about it until my husband came home and we…
I Gotta Chew On This Awhile
On Saturday I had gum for the first time in over three years. This is so strange to me. There had been no ugly breakup. No accusations were hurled and no one was hurt. We simply went our separate ways. But it’s as if I had forgotten it even existed!…
Lidsville
I can’t drink water during the night. To me that’s like drinking a glass of yuck-mouth. So I take a glass of iced tea with me when I head up to bed every night. At the age of 50, I got my first sippy cup. I don’t even think they…
Call The Doctor! My Blog Has An Ethos!
I have always been a lover of a good quote. When I see one that makes me gasp, stops me in my tracks or makes my heart do a little flip-flop, it begins to take root in me. It becomes ammunition in my intellectual, emotional and often spiritual arsenal. I…
The Long And Short Of It
I have a long (to do) list and a short desire to get it done.— Sister Rain (1/6/16)
From Beauty To The Beast
In the blackness of early morning, I headed to the kitchen. My vision is darkened all the time so when it’s dark for you, it’s doubly so for me. I turned the dimmer light on low, I’ve gotten good at maneuvering without light, and headed directly to the Keurig. While…
Worst Parront Ever
This is an empty bread bag and the little green tail you see at the top left off the picture belongs to my bird. Although I can’t see them now, prior to my vision loss I saw enough warnings about the dangers of plastic bags on children’s heads and suffocation…
2016: The Yearr Of More Sweet, Less Bitter
Happy New Year! My wish, my hope, my dream is always the restoration of my full sight. But that is not something I can make happen, that’s in the hands of medical professionals, scientists and maybe technology too. So I can’t consider it a resolution. Yes, the “R” Word, thrown…
Old And Eyes
Twenty-seven years ago tonight I was single and in Times Square with a girlfriend, drinking a beer in a paper bag that we got at Howard Johnson. And I could see the enormous crowd and the insanely bright and colorful lights of the famous locale. A Bucket List moment long…
“That’s Just My Silly Little Blog, Detective”
Me, speaking to my husband today around noon: “I’ve got nothing for my blog. I can’t keep writing about you being home all week and how bad it is and how you are driving me crazy. The authorities could use it against me.” And just like that, a blog is…
Hear No Husband, See No Husband
My husband gave me super nice wireless headphones for Christmas. We were sitting together on the sofa, trying out their different options. I put the headphones on and enabled the noise canceling feature. I asked him to speak and I couldn’t hear him. I said, “Well, I can hardly see…
Yeah It Will
Day after Christmas shopping is a tradition. I do enjoy it, but my pick-up tine was made earlier this year: 6 a.m. After many trips to the tequila punchbowl last night. Five cups of coffee, seven stores and one diner for breakfast in four hours. Amid the empty shelves, enough…
What A Bright Time, It’s The Right Time
Annual Christmas Eve breakfast with my oldest and dearest friend. A tradition.And the right time to be a kid again.Rudolf Pancakes. (Mimosas not shown in order to maintain childhood charade.)
I Interrupt This Holiday . . .
. . . for the comedian named Technology: Intention: To alert my husband it was very foggy this morning.Technology: Be careful. It’s fudgy out.Intention: To let a friend who wanted to call me know I was at breakfast with another friend.Technology: With Debbie at breasts. Technology: Thank you. Don’t forget to tip your blogger. My…
Inbox Full, Under The Tree Empty
Shopping online for gifts is a convenience, but to me, it is much more than that. It’s a way to reclaim some of my independence. Since jumping in my car, list in tow, is no longer an option, I can open the iPad and start browsing, price comparing and ordering….
I Can Imagine. And I Will.
I recently read the book Blind, written by Rachel Dewoskin. It’s a fictional account of 15-year-old Emma, who is blinded in a fireworks accident. Towards the end of her story, Emma talks about not liking when people say “I can’t imagine”. She questions, why can’t they imagine?I’ve given a lot…
Used To
I went Christmas shopping yesterday with my friend. We had such a great time. In between breakfast at a local diner and appetizers and cocktails at a favorite bar in late afternoon, I realized a few things. Before my vision loss, I used to love browsing in gift shops, book stores….
Christmasitis
My friends all have expressed that this year, they just can’t seem to get into the holiday spirit. I am in the same sleigh. It’s more than the stress and overwhelming feeling that usually accompanies the days leading up to December 25th. I realized the severity of my condition when…
Elf’s Comp
Today while wrapping some gifts my husband has to take into work tomorrow, I cut a good chunk of my left hand thumb fingernail off with regular scissors. It was just the nail and no skin, thankfully, and the first scissor mishap I’ve had since the loss of my sight….
The Gift Of The Christmas Cactus
We mindlessly water you once a week, an almost nuisance item on our weekend to do lists. While other flowers flaunt their endless array of striking hues during the dog days of summer, you lay dormant, patiently waiting. Then, just as the weather and our surroundings change to gray and…
NOT A Reindeer Game
I have a great holiday game for you: Wait until night. Turn off the lights. Close your eyes until you have the minimum amount of sight without them being completely shut. Now decorate your tree!!! EXTRA POINTS FOR PUTTING THE HOOK ON THE ORNAMENT! It’s the holiday version of Pin…
Sledding Into The Spirit Of The Season
This season is touted as the best part of each year, but in reality, it is extremely stressful. Of course we all know what this holiday is truly about but no one in my inner circle is immune and every one of us is on high alert and in survival…
If The Pants Fit, I Can’t Quit
I hate working out. Hate it. I have no endorphins and the only high I get from exercise is the high amount of expletives I say to myself as a mantra, in tine to my pedaling or the music. But I do it. Six to seven times a week, alternating…
Divine Auto-Vention
While working on a blog post today I misspelled Christmas and autocorrect changed it to Christ mad. I don’t care what your religious beliefs, that ain’t good.
Paging Dr. M
After a fun but busy day out shopping, I am tired. Every step I take is stressful because of my poor vision and throw into the mix a brick walkway, hills, crowds and shopping bags, and I am ready for bed. My back hurts and my feet are talking to…
Wrecking The Halls
With the amount of snowmen, Santas and wise men strewn about, having been released from their plastic bin hibernation, I can assure you, this ain’t decking. But as is true with a lot of things in life, it’s gotta get ugly before it gets pretty.
I’m No Longer Middle Aged But Still Can’t See
I heard a news item this morning about a current diabetes medication that could enable humans to live to 120 years of age. Clinical trials will begin in the U.S. next winter. In keeping with this blog’s only promise, prepare yourself for total honesty. Here it comes. My first thought…
Spa Rum Mug
It says a lot that I’ve been out all day and when I got home I got on the exercise bike instead of decorating for Christmas. And what it says rhymes with Spa Rum Mug.
Mrs. M
A longtime family friend went into a dementia unit of a retirement home today. She woke up in her bed of fifty years this morning and now has a new bed and a new home. Her husband will be selling their house and moving into the same community. There is…
Ded Moroz Roulette
Today I played a dangerous game of Ded Moroz Roulette:Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Black Friday, Cyber Monday? Do I Christmas shop online today or wait until Monday? What to do? Is that jingle bells I hear in my head? I could really eat a turkey sandwich right now. Oh look, a…
In-vow-uable Friendships
While running errands with my husband, wishing I could drive, the phrase ‘in sickness and in health’ popped into my head. I thought about the medical challenges we recently faced, his cardiac crisis and my vision loss. Although he and I confronted those obstacles together, we were certainly not alone. Those…
“I’m Going To Need To See Your Photo ID And Frequent Shopper Card, Ma’am”
I was pushing the cart and navigating through a crowded grocery store. The aisles were narrow, there were lots of employees and vendors stocking the shelves. There were a lot of clueless shoppers who seemed to be just standing there, seemingly waiting for the products to miraculously jump from the…
Love Means Never Having To Say, Well, Anything
If you could ask your feather or fur baby one question that they would be able to answer, what would it be? I asked a friend what she would ask her dog and she said, Do you have any idea how much I love you? Our neighbor wonders if animals…
Sexiest Fibber Alive
Does every visually-challenged woman’s husbandtell her he is in People’s Sexiest Man Alive issue or is it just me?
That Was Then, This Is Now
My past haunts me in that I miss my old life before my vision loss so much that sometimes it physically aches when it comes rushing back, filling every crevice of my mind. The irony is not lost on me that these memories are in full color and crystal clear….
Fantasyland Breakfast
If yogurt tasted like ice cream,as I have expected it to every morningfor the last 25 years, I wouldn’t want to feed it to my unicorn.
Working THROUGH The Weekend
Back in the day, when I was young and a little wild, I would drag myself into work on Monday morning. Copious amounts of coffee were consumed and conversations at the coffee urn were polite, subdued and quick. It was “too soon” to herald the old, marrieds with my youthful, single escapades….
Day 6
Today is my sixth day home. I have not been out of the house since Saturday night. My captor: My vision loss My rescuer: Me And that, my friends is the meaning of life.
If I Knew Now, What I’ll Know Then
Why is it so much easier to look back than it is to look forward?
It’s As Plane As The Nose On My Face
I saw on TV a man who lives in a former commercial airliner in Oregon. As he was giving a tour of his home, all of a sudden I was overcome with an olfactory memory. I was remembering the smell of an airplane: stale air, cold and hard plastic, old…
November 10, 1990
A man walks into an apartment, dressed in jeans and a blue and white long-sleeved Oxford shirt, hands on hips and says, in his best Joey Tribbiani voice, “How you doing?”.His heart was healthy. I had my full vision. Our grandparents were alive. My mom was alive and would walk me…
Pinch-To-Enlarge Help
I AM NOT WRITING THIS IN CAPS BECAUSE I AM VISUALLY CHALLENGED BUT BECAUSE THIS IS MY WAY OF SHOUTING FROM THE ROOFTOPS!!! OK, I realize that is super annoying. But I ask that you imagine me screaming this to you. I have been having an issue for months with…
Daylight Piper Time
Fall-ing back an hour is always an adjustment, not just for us parronts, but our feathered friends, too. Piper gets a snack every day at 6 p.m. The time can vary a bit depending on what’s going on, but believe me, he knows when it’s snack time and has no…
Book ‘Em, Danno
I always feel like I’m getting away with something when I renew a library book. Where else in life can you extend a deadline with no repercussions or buy yourself some time at no cost to you? That’s right, no unmarked bills in a paper bag exchanged hands, there was…
My Vote For His Stripper Name: Bambi
While out running errands yesterday with a friend, I heard myself saying about my husband: “He isn’t going to rehab tonight because he’s working the polls.” My straight-laced, teetotalling husband is not working a 12-step program nor is he collecting dollar bills while wearing 7-inch stilettos. He is taking back…
Sister Rain, In Depth
I have very poor depth perception because of my vision condition which makes curbs and steps a challenge. I also have difficulty pouring liquids, because I can’t tell when I’m getting close to the top. I’ve overfilled many times. I just got this great little gadget, the Say When Liquid…
Osmosis Blood, Sweat And Tears
The weekend revolved around a half marathon and a football game. Neither of which I competed in. So why do I feel every mile and every tackle today?
Indeed Things Have Changed
Living my new normal, watching TV by sitting close, able to see just enough that I can follow along, everything is in black and white, fast forwarding through a commercial via TiVo, and there it is: A commercial for a website I used to check every single day for job opportunities…
Maybe She Ain’t Such A Bitch
This morning I heard someone who believes wholeheartedly in Karma say that if something is taken away, as it is for everyone in life, at some point or throughout, something replaces it. I was stopped in my tracks by the philosophy and immediately thought about the loss of my mom and the…
WARNING! Sexist Observation Ahead
If this woman can’t stay married, what hope do the rest of us have??? Obviously I don’t know the woman but COME ON!!!
Your Nearest Emergency Exit May Be The Moonroof
My husband and I got into our car after having breakfast out, and I handed him the ever-present anti-bacterial hand sanitizer. He used it and passed it to me. As I rubbed my hands together, I enjoyed the smell of apples in the car, a perfect compliment to the blue…
For It’s One, Two, Last Nerve You’re Out
I heard the following today at the snack stand at Little League; a father was talking to his son: “Honestly, you’re on my last nerve. And that’ is not a place you want to be.” I wanted to buy him some peanuts and a big chill pill . . .
Salad And A Movie
My friend texted me that she had just come across a movie on TV with Derek Hough from Dancing With The Stars. We both watch Dancing, but I feel the need to report that we both watch sports, too. I replied to her that I had just flipped through the channels…
Auto In-correct
This morning I received this text from my friend: “Today Islam-day” I think we have all become good auto-correct decipherers, but this one had me completely perplexed. I replied, asking her what she meant. She came back with: “What I meant is today is HOMEWORK day!!!” I may have finally…
I May Knead To Explain
My friend and I went for massages at a spa neither of us had been to before. We were given a form to fill out, providing them with a very brief medical history. Because of my vision limitations, my spa sister was going to fill my form out for me….
Old Wife’s Hypothesis
My husband and I are opposites in every way. We don’t even hang our bath towels up the same way. I have never been diagnosed, but I do have some OCD tendencies. And although I don’t rehang his towel, every day I adjust it on the bar so it dries…
Cock-A-Doodle-Ding-A-Ling
The last two mornings I have been woken up by my bird (to be clear – not my husband’s bird) by bell ringing coming through the baby monitor. Yes, I said baby monitor. Our last bird was prone to night frights and . . . Crazy. Bird. People. Guilty as…
A Palooza Of The Parrot Kind
Said in my best Dorothy Gale voice, “We’re not in Dog and Cat World anymore!”. This weekend my husband and I attended Parrot Palooza 2015 at Bird Paradise in Burlington, New Jersey. It was our fourth year there and it didn’t disappoint. Vendors exhibited and offered food samples, toys were marked down and …
Consider The Source
Because I blame my vision loss for ruining my life (I was going to put LOL here but the fact is I’m not kidding), I tend to hold it responsible when anything goes wrong. Even if it’s not the cause. Recently my friend was picking me up after an appointment….
Nuts About My Bird
Yesterday, while he was eating an almond, Piper, my conure, became startled and flew onto my head. This happens from time to time, but yesterday he had held on to the almond while in flight and as he stuck the landing. Once perched atop my noggin, he returned to munching…
Pursenal Irony
While switching over to a new purse, all of my everyday, personal items from my old pocketbook (a word which requires Grace Kelly gloves, a fashion-forward hat and, well, Grace Kelly) laid out before me. Looking at the pile, I realized something — not one of these I-must-carry-with-me-at-all-times-even-though-the-bag-is-so-heavy-I-need-a-chiropractor things would…
My Champion’s Heart
Two years ago today, my husband, 46 at the time, was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. The cause? A virus. The effect? Our already shaken world was rocked once again, violently. Only eleven months before, I had lost my vision. My mom had passed away fifteen months prior. That was…
You Gotta Love The Ole Gal
Today we took our air conditioning window units out, as fall temperatures are officially here. Ironically, I was sweating while doing this. Mother Nature. She’s a hoot.
A Very Scary Ode
Brought down from the attic, five days agoDecorations for Halloween and fall Pumpkins and ghosts and witches and leaves Remain packed in their bins in the hall. What’s the delay? I haven’t a clue But I seem to be approaching it slow Put off much longer, there’ll be no more…
Interplanetary Coffee Day
If only coffee had been foundon Mars, today, on National Coffee Day. From the desk of Sister Rain Blogger Coffee Lover Astronaut
MaxTV Glasses
I have these funky-looking glasses I can wear to help me see TV better. You can adjust each lens individually to compensate for the different needs of both your eyes.Just wanted to share in the hopes they could help you too. Google them or ask your eye doctor.
Loss And Wisdom Found
A person very close to me lost her husband, suddenly, last fall. She is keeping busy, but the loss is immeasurable. She always decorated her home; all holidays were serious business. She mentioned to me that she wasn’t going to get out her Halloween and fall knickknacks. I suggested that…
There Is No Eye In Team
“Brokenness does not exist in the body. It exists in the mind, heart and spirit. My mind, heart and spirit are whole.” — Jake Olson Google him. Inspiration awaits.
These Are Two Of My Favorite Things
I had put the tea kettle on the other day to make iced tea, then sat down to read a bit using my Merlin CCTV. After a few minutes, I felt Piper on my foot. He had walked across the floor from where he had been playing with his toys, and climbed…
Go Hawks! . . . I Beg Of You
My husband and I have been married for 23 years. We have had what I hesitate to say (but here I go) is the normal amount of ups and downs. Most recently, in the past three years, we have gone through, and managed to survive, my sudden blindness, the illness…
A Love Story – Part 9.5
Today’s blog post was to be a continuation of A Love Story, but I’m not feeling a lot of love for a certain little birdie, aka Bitey McBitestein.The picture shows the bite as a tiny crescent mark, but it really hurts! That spot on my finger was bit a lot…
A Reely Beautiful Moment
My father-in-law passed away suddenly last November. He was an avid fisherman. Today, my mother-in-law held a garage sale at her house and she had a lot of dad’s fishing gear for sale. A potential customer said to my husband, in a casual way, “Someone is giving up fishing”. My…
Comfort In UnCOMFORTable
My closest friends are always so considerate of me and my visual challenges when we are out and about. In planning an upcoming day trip, one friend suggested some things we could do, but wanted to be sure I only did what I was comfortable doing. My reply to her…
Piperazzi
“Can’t a guy enjoy his morning coffee on his side porch without being photographed?”
Monday Musings
A great friend of mine is leaving today for vacation. She texted me last night, before bed, and she said, “I am very unprepared for tomorrow.” I replied, “Are we ever prepared for tomorrow?”. Obviously she was referring to packing, but it struck a more philosophical chord. After the passing…
If He Thinks He Can Get Out Of Washing Dishes By Being Adorable, He’s Right
Well that and the fact that he’s a bird.
Within A Beloved Rom-Com, A Gem
Meg Ryan as Kathleen Kelly in You’ve Got Mail: ” . . . and missing my mother so much I almost couldn’t breathe.”
I Take Exception To Acceptance
Someone who I had just met but was a relative of someone I know, recently asked me, “Have you accepted it?”. I was taken aback, and I am NEVER taken aback. I quickly confirmed the reference was to my vision loss, and then I replied, simply, with the complete opposite of…
A Love Story – Part 9
August 26, 2012 During the two-hour drive home from the bird rescue with our new boy, Piper, already his unique personality began to emerge. If you don’t know birds, let me set the record straight about bird brains. Birds are so smart and all have their own diverse personalities. As…
Sister Rain Jeopardy
Today I stepped onto an up escalator, and then I stepped off it at the top. All by myself. For the first time in almost three years. Today I located the “thinking of you” greeting cards and then I was able to find the perfect card that I needed. All…
Cue Creepy Music
Tomorrow we have nine stops to make as we run our errands. Since I can no longer drive, groceries and drug store and what-not runs no longer get done during lunch hours or on my way home. Nine errands. Lots of miles. Frequent yelling about his driving. Several hours. Much…
Bird(en Of) Poop
If only they made this stuff for humans! You think someone is full of poop? Spray them. Your day turns into a poop show? Spray yourself. For fellow parronts, if you haven’t tried Poop-Off, fly to your favorite bird supply store or put your zygodactyls to work and order online….
Our Future Past Today
Today, all I can think about is my career before my vision loss. I am remembering every travel delay, every early morning breakfast at the airport, every client, every city, every hotel room, every general session ballroom, every off-site dinner, every team I managed. I know I can never return…
Keep Your Technology Close And Your Friends Closer
Two of my closest friends work at a company I also worked for for 12 years. They both have cell phones issued by the company, and cars with built-in Bluetooth. A few months ago, I began receiving this message from them sometimes when I texted them: [Auto-Reply] I’m driving right now…
Looking Forward
Someone recently told me that you should ALWAYS have something to look forward to, even if it’s something small. I think this is really good advice. What are you looking forward to?
Outside The Bubble
Yesterday I was out in the world with my husband, aka The Birthday Boy. We had a good time, but I had two incidents as a result of my visual impairment. First, we stopped for coffee at Wawa. For those of you not familiar with Wawa, I am sorry for…
Pimp(le) My Arm
Could someone please tell me how a 50-year-old woman gets a pimple on the side of her arm between the elbow and the wrist? I know this is called the forearm but I am too upset about my pimple to use proper body part verbiage. I mean, I am to…
A Love Story – Part 8
I told the woman at the rescue that we would love to adopt one of the two birds we were still considering on a Tuesday. I made arrangements with her to come to the rescue that coming Sunday, August 26th, 2012 to bring him home. We discussed what type of…
A Love Story – Part 7
We returned to the bird rescue the following weekend, on August 18th, 2012. My husband and I spent a lot of time thinking individually and then discussing the three conures we had met the week before. Piper, T and G were all beautiful birds but ran the personality gamut. T…
A Call And A Prayer
I did something big today. I called my neuro-ophthalmologist’s office. I am a patient at one of the top ophthalmology hospitals in the country, and I was supposed to phone them at least six months ago. The purpose of the call was to see how the clinical trials that could…
A Love Story – Part 6
When I spoke to the woman who ran the bird rescue about Piper on August 2nd, 2012, I explained our bird parent history and how we had come to the decision to adopt five years after the passing of our cockatiel, Cato. We chatted a bit longer and then she…
My Situation
During The Jersey Shore frenzy, GTL (Gyn Tan Laundry) became a popular expression representing what the cast of that reality show did everyday. In looking at my daily To Do list, I realize I have my own everyday musts: BWR Blog Workout Read I’m not expecting BWR to take any boardwalk by storm,…
A Train Ride
A friend emailed this to me, and I wanted to share it with you. I apologize for not being able to cite the author or its origin. ********************************************************************************* A Train Ride At birth we board a train and meet our parents. We believe they will always travel by our side….
To The Next 500
This is my 500th blog post. So much has happened since I began this blog in 2010 to document searching for a job during difficult economic times. Now my wish is to tell my story, in the hopes that this new journey I’m on will touch readers but and also…
A Love Story – Part 5
The phone call with the bird rescue was scheduled, via email, for the afternoon of August 2nd, 2012, which meant I had better call my husband and let him know what I was up to. If I was seriously interested in adopting a bird, I needed to get him on…
Visually . .
When I write my blog, I sometimes pause before I type “visually challenged” or “visually impaired”. I have also heard “visually different”. I don’t know what the correct terminology is, so I use the phrase that’s in my heart at that moment. This morning, I have identified two new terms.I…
I’m Feeling Sick Tomorrow
Like quite a few people that I know, I am fighting a summer cold, thought by many to be the worst cold of them all. I had plans with my mom-in-law to meet my husband for lunch and then she and I would do a little shopping. I had texted…
Don’t Call Me Surely
I have lost a pair of tweezers. I am a maniac about organization and everything having its own place where it should be returned to after use. It has served me well never moreso than since the change in my vision. As mindful as I am about things being where…
Lynne
A very close friend of mine just lost a dear friend of her’s. I knew my friend’s friend only from passing her in the halls at a company we all worked at years ago. But I feel like I have been on this woman’s journey with her, through our shared…
A Love Story – Part 4
The next day after first seeing Piper’s posting on petfinder.com, I decided to email the woman who ran the rescue where Piper was living. I told her in my email about our household and our experience in caring for our beloved cockatiel, Cato, from three months old until he passed away…
A Love Story – Part 3
On the evening of August 1, 2012, I went onto petfinder.com for the first time. I had avoided the site until I was ready to find a bird to love because looking before it was time would have been torture. My husband tells me I can’t save them all, but, oh, how…
A Love Story – Part 2
Growing up, I had fish and a hamster. I found out in my teen years that I am allergic to cats and dogs. When I met my husband, his family had a parakeet. This was my first experience with the avian species and I was intrigued. After we were married…
A Love Story – Part 1
I have written about my husband and my friends but there is a very special someone in my life that you haven’t been introduced to yet. We met three years ago, three months before my vision loss. We were just getting to know each other when I became sick and…
I Didn’t Know L.L.Bean Sold Grilled Buns!
Today two friends and I went to an outdoor mall. Living near Philadelphia, there are only a few days each year that are weather-appropriate for such an outing. Today was not one of those days. Temperature and humidity are very high and if The Weather Channel says “excessive heat advisory”…
Survey Says
My husband and I watch Celebrity Family Feud. Don’t judge, it’s summer and all of our shows are on break. Last night, an episode was on our TiVo, so we watched. We like to play along. Don’t judge, we’ve been together 25 years. During the final round for $25,000, the…
it’s OK To Delay
I have learned many things since my sight became compromised, and today I realized that one of them is procrastination. I have always been self-motivated and have always attacked my To Do list. One manager called me a “tactful bulldog”. I received a nice raise that year, and I was…
The Happyover
Last Night Best Friend Pedicures Beautiful Summer Night Cabana Bar Delicious Martinis Yummy Spinach and Artichoke Dip Awesome Live Band Any One Of The Above = Happiness All Of The Above = Joy Overload This Morning Hangover? No Happyover? Yes Symptoms include face hurts from smiling so much and abs…
Epidermis Holy Moses
Since the change in my vision. I have been trimming my fingernails by feel. I have only ever had a manicure once, on the day before my wedding. My hands are in water all the time and I never polish them. I also have a strong aversion to nail files,…
Apologies In Advance
I have been tired and out of sorts the last two days. I tried to write a post yesterday, but the serious one I started just wasn’t coming together. Due to the mood I was/am in, funny wasn’t happening either. Because I can’t let it alone, I have to try…
‘People’ and Needles and Pins, Oh My!
You know you’re old when you are reading People magazine, on the iPad,,while riding the stationary bike, and both your hands keep falling asleep.
Congratulations, Danielle Green
Danielle Green, a former University of Notre Dame women’s basketball guard, was presented the Pat Tillman Award for Service last night at the 2015 ESPY Awards. Eleven years ago while serving in the U.S. Army, Danielle sustained significant injuries in Baghdad, Iraq. To see Danielle’s story, click here. In her…
Tool Of The Trade
Working on this blog at 2:00 in the afternoon is a perfect excuse to have a cup of coffee. Not that I need an excuse. Or the coffee. But it’s my romantic idea of being a writer. And then I hear the washing machine whirring away downstairs. And the trash…
The Eye Of The Storm
The weather today is like the morning I woke up blind. Dark as night and scary as hell.
Everybody’s Working ON The Weekend
People think that when you don’t work outside the home, that your life is one perpetual weekend. When I worked, I thought the same thing. You know what I’ve discovered? It’s absolutely true! Here’s the catch. It’s not the going-to-the-beach or to-the-ski-slopes (season dependent) or long-drive-with-the-top-down weekend. It’s the cleaning…
A Tale Of Two Lives
Prior to the world meeting Caitlyn Jenner, I heard someone say to Bruce that he will get to live two lives in one lifetime. This has stayed with me, and I was thinking about it yesterday. I believe I now know why it struck a chord. I had one life…
Blog-Ready
I have been attending many of my nephew’s little league games, and one thing I keep hearing the parents and coaches telling their boys is to be “baseball-ready”. Little league is about more than baseball, life lessons are folded into a game that they love. I need to be blog-ready,…
The Start Of Something Wonderful
When my mom passed away three years ago, I brought home all her photographs. I didn’t have a chance to look at them before my vision loss a few months later. Now that I have my CC TV Magnifier, I have begun to go through them. Amid the many photos…
I’ll Show You Scary
Because I cannot ride the stationary bike everyday mentally, I purchased a portable DVD player for watching workout videos. I can put the player on the floor or dresser, and get it close to my eyes and see it well enough to follow along, whether I am doing floor work…
FREEDOM
Date: July 4, 2015 Time: 8:30 a.m. Location: 30 miles from Philadelphia 18 miles from Valley Forge The Scene: Two hundred little league players, three hundred spectators, at five fields within a seven-field complex. Hats over hearts. All eyes on the flag. The Only Sound: Our National Anthem HAPPY BIRTHDAY…
A Par-fect Day
My husband and I spent the day with our 9-year-old nephew. It was a beautiful summer day and the boys spent some time at the batting cages and then we all played a round of miniature golf. I had not played mini golf in ten years and although I had…
The Universe Can Be A Brat
I was recently at an event with a mix of family, friends and strangers, where people came and went throughout the day. At one point, a very close friend arrived unbeknownst to me, and was talking to someone else, about five feet from me. When we both looked at each…
Hold The Pickle
Riding the stationary bike between breakfast with a dear, wonderful friend and lunch with another dear, wonderful friend is like a sandwich on the freshest, most delicious bread but with tongue in the middle.
Odds and Beginnings
My friends will text me and ask what I’ve got on my agenda for the day, and several times a week, my reply will be “odds and ends”. Quite often, when I ask what they have planned, they will say the same. These odds and these ends can fill a…
She Is My Mom
Three years ago today my mom passed away.Mom and I were so close that I had assumed I would sense her presence. People tell me she is with me and I nod in response, but on the inside, I am disappointed not to feel her with me. I assumed I…
If An iPhone Falls . . .
. . . into a bathtub full of water, and a legally blind woman is there not to see it, does it make a sound? You bet your rubber ducky it does. PROOF Selfie taken at splashdown:
Going Green
When I first lost my vision, I started saving magazines to read when my sight returned and when it did, I drove myself off into the sunset, as the credits rolled, and the profound song blasted, well, profoundly. The song was, no doubt, Gloria Estefan’s Comung Out Of The Dark, which,…
This Post Packs An Ironic Punch
Before I became visually challenged, I traveled a lot for work. I would be gone from home at lecast one week each month. I was telling someone today how difficult and stressful packing last week for my trip was. And then I said this, “I used to be able to…
Vroom Vroom
Seventeen years after the movie You’ve Got Mail opened in movie theaters, I still love the sound of a new text message arriving on my phone. On days when I have no plans, it is totally usual not to talk to another person until my husband returns home in the evening….
One Giant Leap For Sister Rain
My mom and I spent 30+ days at the beach (we call it ‘the shore’) every year for 30 years. We would go not just in the summer, but in the spring and fall as well. It was home away from home. My mom passed away three years ago next…
Finder’s Weeper
Sometimes I am angrier when I find something that I’ve lost than when I lost it in the first place.
A Bu(r)ndt Cake
You never know what lies underneath until you let it cool, then flip it over. Sometimes it’s what you expected, sometimes you get a happy surprise. And sometimes the surprise is an ugly mess.
Even I Can See That I’m In My Own Way
You would think that once you wake up blind, everything else would be gravy. But what I find is that now I stress when I have something coming up on the calendar, and this never happened before the loss. These things that I’m referring to are fun, good things and…
Bon Appetit Nana
When my Nana passed away in 1996, at the age of 95, I gladly brought her china and china cabinet home with me. Today when my two friends came over for lunch, I decided to set the table with Nana’s dishes. There was no Christmas tree in sight, no Easter…
Home Ec
Tomorrow, I am having two dear friends over for lunch. I have spent the day prepping by cleaning and baking. And all I keep thinking is: I now remember why I don’t entertain more. Tomorrow, however, as we sit around the table laughing and eating what I’ve prepared, all I…
Driving Miss Sister Rain
As a result of my vision loss, I am unable to drive. I live in the suburbs, so public transportation is not an option. My husband isn’t always able to leave work to drive me, so I have to ask my friends. They all continually offer to be my chaufferettes,…
S.O.U.P.
We live in a one-hundred-year-old house and do not have central air conditioning. What we do have is a working stove with a big pot of soup cooking away on it. We also have high humidity and temperatures reaching 80+ degrees F. SometimesOneUsesPoor judgement
They Light Up My Life
Since Tuesday, I have spent time with four of my six closest friends, and will see the remaining two next week. My vision loss resulted in many other losses, but my friends are definitely the bright spots in this new, darker life I am now navigating through. My relationships with…
Ironically, It’s All Fun And Games Until Somebody Loses An Eye
When visually challenged, and even fully-sighted, it is important to check where the nozzle is on an aerosol can before pressing down to spray. I speak from experience. There have been several HSI (Hair Spray Incidents) and last night I had my first cooking spray shower. At least, so far,…
I Dreamed A Dream Of Days Gone By
Last night, I dreamt that I could drive. Even though this meant that my vision had been restored, the focus of the dream was my ability to get in my car and go wherever the heck I wanted to. I felt the weight of my keys in my hand and…
Cafe con Amiga
When you start your day with breakfast with a great friend, the day has nowhere to go but down.
An Auntie’s Pastime
My husband and I have no human children; we have feathered kids. So it is with much irony that we find ourselves getting up at the crack of dawn on weekends for a travel tournament, riding around with two camp chairs in the trunk and a bag packed with Chapstick…
Seriously
I have always loved writing and it has always come easy to me. Whether or not I am any good at it is not for me to decide, but people in my life have complimented and encouraged my passion. And believe me when I say they would have no problem…
A Lost Love Returns
Prior to my vision loss, I was an avid reader. One hundred-books-a-year kind of a reader. I read on planes, in bed, on the beach and in the tub. It was nothing to read five or six books on a long weekend vacation. I have tried audiobooks. Not for me….
Which Came First – The Egg Or The Eggs-pletive?
As if separating the yolk and the white isn’t enough, stiffening the whites is a whole other game of Old McDonald Had A Farm. After beating and beating the whites and a slight bit of frothing but no peaks, I Googled for help. I feel it is my duty to…
My Blog Thinks It’s Norma Rae
This blog may be going on strike until I can figure out how to insert an image into a post using the iPad. I have had to figure out so many work-arounds to be able to use the iPad for blogging that I am actually standing on my head as…
No Need For A Compass When You Have Good Friends
Yesterday I spent a wonderful day with two of my oldest and dearest friends. We have known each other for 30 years and been through illness and loss and vacations and more than anything, laughs, together. The kind that make your whole body hurt. We spent the day shopping in…
Just Chew It
I have not been able to get the song ‘Uptown Funk’ out of my head for the last three days. I recently heard that researchers have found that chewing gum will rid you of the tune stuck on repeat. Don’t believe me just watch.Don’t believe me just watch.Don’t believe me…
Dangerous Curves Ahead
I just read in a magazine letter to the editor that life throws you curves and that it’s how we persevere that makes it all worth it. It really ticked me off. The perseverance makes what worth it? And what curve has been thrown at this letter-writer? My guess is…
Going Nowhere Fast
Good News: Due to vision, can no longer use a treadmill Bad News: Stationary bike
Looking Good . . . Or Not
People keep telling me I don’t look 50. If they are being kind, I would like them to stop. I can’t really see what I look like. I haven’t for two years. Should I be so fortunate to fully regain my sight and get a good look at myself, it…
The Ultimate Welcome Wagon
My mom passed away three years ago. To say we were close is a major understatement. We talked several times a day and were always doing things together. I miss her every day. Her mother, who we called Nana, passed away 15 years before my mom. Nana and my mom…
5/7/65
One day you’re 49 and the next day you’re 50. Yesterday was that day. I’ve never skied and I don’t see very well. But still I know it’s all downhill from here.
Dear Weather Channel:
Dear Weather Channel: I am not a meteorologist nor do I play one on TV. I have, however, been an eye-witness to a weather phenomenon over a twenty-year period. Feel free to rename the event, but we call it THT (Thunderstorm Humidity Tuesday). The cause of THT? My weekday-warrior husband…
-0 To 80
A mere two months ago our temperatures in southeastern Pennsylvania were “how low can you go?” brrrrrrrrrrrrr. Today at noon we were at 81 degrees F. There are many reasons why out-of-the-shoveling-and-into-the-sweating is wrong. None more glaring (wait for it) than this: winter white legs! Even with my vision challenges,…
A Good Hair Day
My closest friends are all very different women from each other. A universal creed, however, is shared by all: NEVER MISS A HAIR APPOINTMENT The Postal Service has nothing on us. We will go to our appointments when we are sick wearing a dust mask as to not infect anyone…
Just Like Riding A Blog
Almost three years to the day of my last post, I return to blogging. So much has happened during my time away, I didn’t know where to begin. It turns out the biggest hurdle is not my visual impairment but remembering a sign-on and password which have been dormant all…