Did any of you ever read the Babysitters Club Series? I did. I read several of the books and even tried to start my own club with a couple of my friends. In every book in this collection that I am assuming is made up of hundreds of novels targeting preteens, there is a paragraph explaining what diabetes is because one of the members of the club, Stacy, who, by the way was mine and my sister's favorite character, had diabetes. These books were obviously not great works of literature, but this part made sense. The explanation was identical in every installment, and written in first person, as if Stacy were repeating it for the umpteenth time in a social situation. To this day, whenever I tell people where I am from, or explain what Cerebral Palsy is. I picture Ann M. Martin's choppy paragraph on old wrinkled on elementary-school library pages that reek of Elmer's glue.
"Romeo... it's about an hour north of Detroit." "I have Cerebral Palsy.... It's caused by lack of oxygen to the brain at birth. Mine mostly affected my balance center and made my legs a little spastic. Everyone you meet is different.... I'm very lucky."
I do not mind explaining where my parents live. Every small-town girl has to do it, and though I thought it was in middle and high school, Romeo's not a bad place to have roots. We grew up around many, many people who rallied around us, and still would. I don't even mind a explaining the CP anymore. I typically spit out the aforementioned sentences before I realize I've done it. I get it change it up for little kids ("I just walk a little differently than you do... No, my legs don't hurt.") and the vast majority of people respond politely. I think I have even perfected the tone of voice and I always break the tension, by cracking a joke at the end. These are simply parts of my unsophisticated story.
What I fear, is having to add more "clarity paragraphs" if you will, as I age. I really dislike the idea of that. What if one of them is to if one is to my friend "Beth comes to clean on Tuesday, and Jessica, is the one who makes dinner." Or to lovely, hard-working, home-health aids, "The wipes are the cabinet under the sink on the left side, you can't miss them." Or what if God forbid, I am talking to my mother "I would love to get married but, for the tenth time, but it's hard to a man find that will accept woman with multiple emotional and physical issues."
I do not want lonely to become mundane for me. I do not want to picture that worn paperback book, while my independence and self-worth wither away. It'd just be too much. And sadly, I think it is my worst fear. I would hate to smell Elmer's glue on my death bed.
"Romeo... it's about an hour north of Detroit." "I have Cerebral Palsy.... It's caused by lack of oxygen to the brain at birth. Mine mostly affected my balance center and made my legs a little spastic. Everyone you meet is different.... I'm very lucky."
I do not mind explaining where my parents live. Every small-town girl has to do it, and though I thought it was in middle and high school, Romeo's not a bad place to have roots. We grew up around many, many people who rallied around us, and still would. I don't even mind a explaining the CP anymore. I typically spit out the aforementioned sentences before I realize I've done it. I get it change it up for little kids ("I just walk a little differently than you do... No, my legs don't hurt.") and the vast majority of people respond politely. I think I have even perfected the tone of voice and I always break the tension, by cracking a joke at the end. These are simply parts of my unsophisticated story.
What I fear, is having to add more "clarity paragraphs" if you will, as I age. I really dislike the idea of that. What if one of them is to if one is to my friend "Beth comes to clean on Tuesday, and Jessica, is the one who makes dinner." Or to lovely, hard-working, home-health aids, "The wipes are the cabinet under the sink on the left side, you can't miss them." Or what if God forbid, I am talking to my mother "I would love to get married but, for the tenth time, but it's hard to a man find that will accept woman with multiple emotional and physical issues."
I do not want lonely to become mundane for me. I do not want to picture that worn paperback book, while my independence and self-worth wither away. It'd just be too much. And sadly, I think it is my worst fear. I would hate to smell Elmer's glue on my death bed.
Life is funny the way it works out. Sometimes we have to leave that elmer's glue smell behind and just say, "Ok life, ready for you. " Can related to this a lot though. Explaining yourself repeatedly can be tedious but necessary. Thing is that you can define what you want to have to explain. You never know who you are going to have come into your life or what role they will play. Just be yourself honey. It will be ok. I know that is hard to hear and harder to accept but it is true!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. You're thoughts really do mean a lot.
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