Merry Christmas, everyone! Been writing more, so decided to update the blog. Been reaching out on the web to some relatives and friends. Also, welcomed grandson #4 recently. They are all gorgeous, all boys, all very smart, fill in the blank if you're already a grandparent; you know the drill (and in everybody's case it's true, I know.)
On the MS front, just heard of a girl who was recently diagnosed. She is only in her early 20's. Man, I can only hope the future is brighter for her, and everyone else who comes along with a diagnosis now. (See my links for the NMSS address for further information.)
And...music for today is "An Evening with John Denver," the album my folks got me for my 12th birthday. Still sounds good after all these years. RIP

I'm up and moving again. After months of being tied to the wheelchair, I received my leg braces in the mail today. Take that, MS---I'm going out tomorrow afternoon, to another place with different walls and other lights through the windows. AHA!

Lately, I've had alot to think about. The MS has been doing it's regular Fall thing, and I sometimes feel as if I'm sitting up high looking down on what used to be my life, and shaking my head in disbelief. I'm a Christian, so I have to believe I still have a voice, and some sort of job in the world. I don't stay quiet for long.
Let me tell you how it really is to have MS. My job has been over for a long time, but I stay in touch with friends, family, my "extras", the friends of my kids when they were growing up.
And always the grandkids, Beach Boys and playing Peek a boo, nothing can take that away.
So you stay in touch with the things that are really "you", everything is kind of distilled down to what really matters.
There's still nothing to take for granted, and sometimes good things still to gain.
After all, I got Kris Kristofferson's new album in the mail today, so life is good.

I'm just sayin'...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/07/obama-speech-to-schoolchi_n_278763.html
This is the link to the speech Obama will give to schoolchildren this week. Check it out; it's a good speech. I'm just sayin'...

Keeping an eye on Washington, hoping in the end everybody ends up with healthcare coverage. In a country this size with our economic development and in this day and age,
everybody should be able to access healthcare. Here's hoping for the best. OK, done ranting for the day.

"Freedom's just another word..."

I was thinking about "Freedom,"and what that concept means to me now.
It has meant different things to me throughout my life, depending on my then-current situation. Back in the late 60's, when my dad taught me all of the lyrics to Kris Kristofferson's first album, freedom was something people sang about, and I was still just a kid, but from things I would see on TV or hear in songs, I figured "freedom" had something to do with motorcycles and long hair.
In the 70's, when I was going through high school and thinking about the future, "freedom" was the concept by which I dreamt about what the future may hold someplace other than "here."
During the years I worked and raised a family, "freedom" was something I blithely took for granted, making my decisions and mistakes as I went, no one judging how I did it.
These days, I look back on Kristofferson's lyric, "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose" to describe what it's like to be without a driver's license, unable to rollerskate, or play with my grandkids the way I would like, outside and running around with no restraint.
"Nothing left to lose" is what happens when depression grabs you, and it's hard to see the light.
But somehow, I keep lookin' up.

On a day when nothing goes right and the various parts of your body are not working well, there's nothing else to do but veg in front of the Bears game with a Pepsi and some chocolate/mint ice cream; and just maybe, the Bears will win!