Missing my sweet, hilarious, sassy little sister. I've always thought it was silly that people always think we are twins because we are so different, until I realized that she's just the other half of me. She's the one who grabs my arm and pulls us to the next risk-taking event while I frantically try to sort out the logistics and do the research while running behind her. She makes a grand entrance when we walk into a room and I sneak in behind her, because she loves the attention and I love to watch her shine. Her free spirit dives fearlessly into anything and everything, while I walk carefully behind her, ready to deal with anyone who tries to get in her way. She's the marshmallow cream to my peanut butter sandwich. The one who pushes me in my wheelchair down the ramps at Disney World while our mom covers her eyes behind us. I couldn't ask for anyone better. I love you, Z.
Enjoying these last 6 weeks with my sweet babies before they move up to pre-k 4 and don't need their "Ms. Awesa" anymore. They are so grown up, and their sweet hugs and giggles do more for my heart than they could ever know. So blessed to be part of their lives.
Obsessing over the uncertainty of my future until I send myself into cardiac arrest. My car accident and injuries have made things I've always wanted seem so different and sometimes out of reach.
Preparing for another intense week of rehab. PT and OT are hard and exhausting and frustrating, but cognitive therapy is what kills me. My brain controls everything that makes me Alexa. Having to re-learn how to read and do math, two of my favorite things, with this newly acquired dyslexia is frustrating. That's what we are working on now that my 3 summer math classes have started. I am praying this experience makes me a better teacher. It has certainly made me even more passionate about getting my masters in reading education to become a reading specialist.
Wondering what the last 5 months of my life would have been like if my accident had never happened. I'd be in Spain right now, studying abroad for the summer and finishing up my Spanish education endorsement. I'd have no idea how lucky I am to have a perfectly healthy brain and spine, and that being able to balance on one foot is, in fact, a lot harder than we think. My biggest worry would be whether I should stay in and study or go out and get drunk in Spain, and I'd probably pick the latter, because how often do you have the chance to get drunk in Spain?
Packing my apartment because I'm moving to one that doesn't have stairs or neighbors who scream at each other every night at 3am.
Checking to see if there's anything on TV besides Finding Nemo, because a few weeks of nonstop rain when you're a daycare teacher will make a lot of kid-friendly movies get really old really fast.
Wishing my family, daycare babies, rehab therapists, and college classes were all located in the same place.
Drinking an Ocean Water from Sonic, because I normally only drink water and coffee, but Saturday is for breaking the rules.
Planning my first tattoo that I want to get when all of this rehab stuff is over. I know, I know. Me? A tattoo? BUT my brother and sister both have multiple and hello, I can't be left out!
Reading Over My Head: A Doctor's Own Story of Head Injury from the Inside Looking Out. And a bunch of kid books that I have to read for cognitive therapy to practice reading with dyslexia. Boo. I don't get to do a lot of reading for fun these days, because it's not as fun when it makes your brain hurt after 5 minutes. Double boo.
Listening to my Ben Folds playlist.
Watching Downton Abbey. Finally. Not right this minute, but I just started season 1 a few days ago. I needed something to move on to after I finished season 2 of Orange Is the New Black in a day and a half. So there's that.
Marveling over the BEAUTIFUL quilt my friend/former neighbor/former babysitter made for me and sent me all the way from England!! (She gets to live in England with her husband and 4 kids and make quilts all day because she has a badass life.) I am not even putting this in my blog because I feel like that's something you should do when someone gives you something. I am legitimately in love with it. Thank you so much, Jenn!!
Thanking all of you for reading and sharing my last blog post about my sweet friend and guardian angel, Dane! It's gotten almost 3,000 views and I saw so many people who aren't even my friends on facebook sharing it on their page! Wow! Thank you so much. I had no idea it would take off like that. Dane is just as great of a guardian angel as he was a friend to me during his time here. Thank you.
Feeling good. Really good. That's not something I've been able to say a lot since my accident. I'm finally starting to almost have an equal number of good and bad days, which is way better than having a lot more bad days than good. My rehab doctor has me on some steroids which have been decreasing the swelling near my brain and spine, which helps decrease some of my pain. And that is a lifesaver. Our next obstacle is to figure out why my legs go numb. BUT today I feel good. I feel like maybe my whole life isn't completely ruined and that there are still good things up ahead for me. I will not let one person's stupid decision to run through two red lights take all of my dreams away from me. She does not get that power. I will push through the bad stuff because I do not want this to be where my story ends.
One day during my pool therapy, we were working on strengthening my spine so I could re-learn how to float. Every time I would start to go under, my therapist would say, "Try to come back up. You can do this. Don't let yourself sink." So now we always say stuff like that. I refuse to let this defeat me. I refuse to sink.
**I got my idea for this post from my friend, Jenn. The same one who made the quilt. You can check out her blog and read about her badass life here.
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