Sparkly

 All year I have worn pants. My wardrobe choice was carefully selected because my job is physical (I am literally walking all day) and because I wanted to keep my prosthesis concealed. Anybody who has known me for a nanosecond knows that I am not ashamed of my prosthesis. While I am not ashamed, I am very aware of the disability bias that surrounds amputees and their abilities.

In my experiences, especially in professional environments not geared for individuals with limb loss, being 'out' too soon with a disability is detrimental. Co-workers often start their own little informal evaluations on their new disabled peer, "just to make sure that everything stays okay."  I was not interested in having to work while continuing to prove my worth after I was hired, so I chose to simply wear long pants and do a stellar job all year with my students. 

The school year is over. I looked back on the progress made by all of my students and I feel nothing but pride. Each one of my kiddos made amazing strides towards independent travel. I worked the entire year without encountering any issues because of my amputation and prosthesis. I no longer feel the need to hide because I'm damn proud of what this amputee mommy accomplished over the past 9 months. 

Today, as I go into my final days of work, I'm feeling sparkly.

 

Orientation and Mobility Job

 Memorial Day has come and gone. The constant cold rain did nothing to herald the summer season. I cannot remember another Memorial Day weekend where we huddled in front of the fire and made a pot roast instead of burgers on the grill. We didn't do anything celebratory, but all local activities were cancelled due to the rain so I suppose we didn't really miss out. 

Today is back to work for the final week. I don't know what I will be doing next year, which feels unsettling. It also leaves me feeling frustrated, because I feel like I am fighting for professionalism-again.  Unanswered emails and the total lack of information has forced me to expand my job search beyond my current county. My contract ends on Thursday and I would love to have something established for the next school year.

While I hate to admit it, I'm back on the prowl for a new job. 

After Springsteen

 While Sheri and I had a fabulous time at the concert, the evening ended on a somber note. Because we were had floor seats, it was extremely easy for us to exit the venue. We were among the first wave of concert goers to exit into the fresh air. My sister was about two people ahead of me in the crowd when I saw a woman get bumped and tumbled into a light pillar. She screamed in pain, which prompted me to immediately stop. 

I turned around and I saw her trying to get off the ground. I asked if she was okay, expecting the obligatory "No, I'm fine, thanks" before continuing the walk back to the hotel. Instead, she looked me with panicked eyes and said, "Yes. Please call 911. He is hurting me."

 Sh*t.  I hate confrontation, but I quickly realized that our night was going to get interesting. I screamed to my sister, "Sheri, this woman is hurt and needs help." She immediately came back, which was a blessing because this tall, bald, large drunk man was screaming at the bloodied woman and grabbing at her keys. 

She told him to leave. He wouldn't. I told him to leave. He wouldn't. Sheri told him to leave. The situation was quickly escalating. Despite the blood and the screaming, thousands of people streamed by us without offering to help. I think Sheri and I simultaneously realized we needed to figure this out together. 

With communication that comes from being sisters for life, I left to find the police while she led the lady to safety. The drunk man followed my sister and the lady back into the venue, screaming and demanding that she come back and that everything was fine. 

I'll be honest, it took me longer to locate security than it should have. And when I did find help, it took longer for me to convince them that they were needed than it should have. Regardless, when it was finally understood that they had a violent man stalking a woman outside of their bathroom, the cops converged.  

It turns out that the drunk dude was on probation, so he was quickly led away in cuffs (screaming obscenities.)  The woman was treated by medical and helped by the police. Sheri and I provided our contact information and our accounts of the incident before heading back towards our hotel.  

By the time everything was over, the venue had emptied and we had a relatively quiet walk back to the hotel.   While I'm glad that we were there to help, I'm dismayed that nobody else stepped up.  It makes me very sad.

Springsteen

 The Bruce Springsteen concert is one that I will never forget. 

My sister prefers to arrive at event venues with at least an hour to spare. Because I am an easy traveler, I was fine leaving the hotel early so that we could arrive at the concert with "enough time" for her to be able to get a t-shirt. The show started at 7:30 and we had purchased drinks, her t-shirts and found our seats by 6:05. 

We were up in the rafters, taking pictures from our vantage point of the stage and the arena. Needless to say we were excited! As we were getting comfortable for our 90 minute wait for the show, my sister was approached by a lovely young lady. She introduced herself as being with the tour, and offered to move our seats to the floor. 

Are you kidding me? Floor seats for Springsteen? Talk about an amazing opportunity. We gathered our items from our rafter seats and headed to our new floor seats. Wow. Just wow.

 

Celebration

 Happy Birthday to Me!  

This year's celebration, much like everything else, will be different. Usually I don't have anything planned other than preparing a nicer dinner than normal and baking a strawberry shortcake for dessert. This year I actually have fun plans for my birthday! After work I'm heading to Pittsburgh to connect with my sister at the Bruce Springsteen concert. I'm so excited!

I can't remember the last time I had true plans on my birthday. I suspect it was back when I was in college and we would collectively go to the bars to celebrate at each opportunity. Since I graduated into adulthood, my birthday celebrations have been held at home (sometimes at a local restaurant with only family) followed by cake at home. I know that I have not spent my birthday in a 'party' type atmosphere in nearly 3 decades, a trend that is both pathetic and in desperate need of being broken.  

I'm really looking forward to unwinding tonight! 

Summer Soon

 The school year is heading into the final countdown. By the end of this week, we will be into the single digits when counting down until summer vacation. I've never been one to countdown days in front of students because not every kiddo is excited about the weeks without school and the structure that it brings. While I keep the countdown private, I am so excited about summer vacation!

Are we doing anything spectacular? Hopefully, although nothing is planned. I would love to take Timmy to the beach for a few days in July, but we are unsure where because the cost of flying is simply too high. So we are looking at Virginia Beach for a few days but that is still tentative. Too much can change, and planning isn't fun with this many variables.

While summer vacation is on the horizon, it is not yet here. Today we are back to work and back to school. It is going to be hot, which means that my day is going to be a lot harder. Hopefully the heat will stay away until I'm done with my final student. 

Ready

 I've come to the conclusion that my body and mind struggle when my schedule fluctuates. Having a random Tuesday off continues to play tricks with my mind calendar. I was hoping that I would settle back into the routine and the rest of the week would flow smoothly. Instead I'm still feeling disjointed and overwhelmingly tired. 

I suppose much of my fatigue stems from the end of the year chaos. It's a crazy time of year in those halls!While teachers are busy packing up their rooms and collecting devices, the kids are nearly bouncing off the walls in anticipation of summer vacation. While I will miss most of my students, I'm ready for a vacation. 

Summer break is on the horizon but it is not yet here. At this point, I'm just waiting for Saturday so that I can try to sleep away this fog I'm living in.