Comments by "Kimberly C" (@kimberlyc84) on "Glorious Life On Wheels"
channel.
-
My daughter just moved 2 hours south from where I am in GA and bought acreage on a pecan grove. It has orange and peach trees (WHAT??? maybe NOW I can finally get a peach from...uhh...mmm...oh, yeah! The PEACH state! I can't remember the last time I got a Georgia Peach that actually came from Georgia 🤔)
The rents are double and a half what her mortgage is. We are being crowded out, and bulldozed for the two and three story townhomes that are being thrown up within 3 to 4 months' time.
An anchor lot 400 ft from us with an older, unkept home was bought for $700k and is being bulldozed now as I post this. We petitioned the commissioners & builders for 3 yrs to consider not rezoning it to townhomes and to consider keeping it as single family and putting in 12 small bungalow, cottage type homes with one level.
We were basically laughed at by the builder and the contractor (who doesn't live here, of course🙄) and told "nobody wants to mow grass"😮
All the townhouses are three stories, 13 steps to get onto the main level. And they can put 7 per acre so they've been approved for 14, 3 story, no walking trails nor passive park as promised when the first 215 (yes, 215 (that's where I stopped counting) within a mile & a half radius) already there were first put in. Almost daily after school, I see older kids just sitting on the electrical boxes outside on phones.
If any have bikes or scooters, we welcome them to play on our street because it is not a cut through and they don't have to worry about the cars that go speeding through the townhomes' roundabout like SpeedRacer (despite a 25 mph sign. The little one that was hit should be getting his cast off soon😢).
All starting at $470k two yrs ago, so there are multiple families (most renting) crowding together into them to pay the rent to people that don't live here. (But business is business, I guess)
Yet our foundations are shifting from the granite they have to drill into and they only want to offer us less than half for our acreage. The deer are more prevalent in our thickets since the food source has been removed.
We are all nearing retirement, (except for the 4 little ones' parents next door😊). Out of the 11 homes on our street, 5 are veterans, 3 w ailing parents living with them, and our homes are either ranches or tri-level splits, so there are at maximum only 4-7 stairs to navigate.
I've started decluttering and downsizing so when (not if, but when) they offer me something that makes sense, I won't be taken by surprise.
I too have started pricing items and getting rid of what won't suit me and checking out places that might offer me what I need (like my daughter's acreage) where I can have a home base to park and reside and I'd rather pay her and help her with her place and be able to hit the road when I want and have a home base that's not killing me fighting the encroachment.
I have also found a 55 and over RV community about an hour from me, but that won't be feasible in driving to work every day until I retire at the elementary school I work at.
I also found a tiny home community one County over from me.
The taxes are much lower. They were built by a non-profit organization called Microlife Institute. I don't think they are restricted to age. But there is an upcoming tour that I will be participating in in a few months. So I can get an idea of some options.
There is also a tiny Home festival coming at the end of the month. It's not restricted to just tiny homes. The festival website says there will be Vans and RVs as well!
I'm really excited about this option.
There was recently a sad situation here and that hit the news where about 200 seniors were paying for an independent living facility but the mortgage was not being paid. The owner filed bankruptcy and the they were all given less than 60 days to vacate.
That means that all the money they had paid had gone into somebody's pocket who basically just spent it.
Sad, selfish situation.
1
-
1
-
We relocated to GA in '94.
When I made my Exodus from a tumultuous situation, I was turned down for 3 rentals (because my (then) mate refused to pay bills on time, my credit was shot.)
When I finally found one in my kids' zoned school, it was fine.... For about a week.... Then the ants started coming... Through the floorboards, from the ceiling, around the drains in the bathroom, around the electrical sockets, through the windows, in the cabinets, through the pipes...
Everybody kept telling me just stop paying the rent and continue to complain...
Well, in my county, code enforcement literally told me all he has to do is have a good roof. He can rent a tent to you, and it would be legal.
We called an exterminator out twice a month for 2 and 1/2 years.
Within that time frame though, I was diagnosed with bc, I had to file bankruptcy because my then ex-mate decided to let the marital home go into foreclosure instead of selling all of the things that I had left as agreed, my car gave up the ghost 60 miles from home @ my daughter's honor chorus show, my elementary school office clerk job started furloughing. I applied for food stamps, and I was told that I made $12 too much. I said, oh, $12 a month? They told me no $12 a YEAR too much 😵💫
I rotated between three food pantries and a co-op to keep food in the house.
I resorted to a kerosene heater because the heat in the house would not register above 67, and, contrary to popular belief, we do have freezes down here in Georgia.
I had always packed my lunch since I was a teenager so taking breakfast was no problem in addition to lunch. My Hotlogic is a lifesaver to the communal microwave at work that NOBODY cleans after use. (I just separate my portions into smaller containers, and I heat up separate things in mini aluminum loaf pans. Stays add a constant temperature once I put it in in the morning, and buy lunch time, I have a nice, not dried out, not rubbery meal.)
I attended every first time home buyer seminar and scoured every single program I could find to see if I could qualify for something on my salary.
Most of my money was split between court fees to have their father pay his under $300 a month child support for two children...not $600..but $300 total.
I did the math, and I think one of those impoverished children in the third world country was getting more than it would be per hour for him to support our children.
Every single thing in the home was donated with the exception of the deep freezer, the dryer, and a dresser for each child. (That's all I left with).
My eldest enlisted in the military to lower the pressure on us. He was deployed when I was undergoing my surgery.
I was finally approved for a home at 3.625 APR with no PMI.
But, within 8 yrs, the county taxes have doubled.
They are building $500,000 townhomes less than 400 ft from me, all with 13 steps a piece up, but want to give us less than half of that. They have no desire for seniors or people that have mobility challenges in any of the 250 + units. 😡
My second child enlisted shortly after graduating high school.
And my third and last little birdie just graduated college on every essay scholarship and part-time job she can find.
She just qualified for an agricultural/USDA loan 2 hours south in rural GA on a pecan grove with orange and peach trees.
I have been looking around at RVs, vans, and places that I might be able to move to.
I did find a tiny home community in clarkston, not too far from me, but the houses are all occupied... But you can rest assured that I am definitely keeping my eye out😊
It has seriously come across my mind the possibility that after I retire from the school system within 8 years that I might just get a small camper and, if allowed, live on her land. I would rather pay rent to her.
There's also a tiny Home festival coming to Georgia at the end of the month. I believe it is in Jackson georgia. I got my tickets last week.
It says in addition to tiny homes it will also have RVs and vans.
I think the best thing is to continue paring down as I'm doing, prioritize in case we are bought out, deluge myself in as much information as possible, and really come to terms with what may be a very real issue.
The last thing I want to do is do you have to spend my entire retirement per month just to pay for where I live.
~Sending good vibes to all!
🚗☁️☁️
P.S. when I finally was able to qualify for our own home in 2015 and move from the rental, we were paying $950 a month. (TRULY GOD'S GRACE!)
That weekend, I had my son block his number and call to ask what the rent would be because the landlord had put a for rent sign out on the lawn.
He was told $1250. Which was still amazing at that time for a whole house.
I see people bringing me proof of residency when they enroll their students and they are renting one ROOM and it will say $1700 for a room, kitchen, & bath EXCLUDING utilities!😮
1
-
I moved into the neighborhood I'm in in 2015.
There are 11 houses on our block all on half acre lots.
I qualified and was blessed to be able to move out of a rental and purchase this house with rebuilt credit after a bankruptcy from the divorce.
The gentleman next to me is on a full acre and his father built the house I am in, his house, and two others on our street.
On half of his acre, I was told that he had a huge vegetable garden.
People would come home and there would be squash, pumpkins, green beans, bulbs of onions, potatoes on their doorsteps.
Now, it mainly gets overgrown every few months can I see the son making a feeble attempt at tackling the brush and overgrowth with his push mower.
But the stories I would hear from the other neighbors and the look they would get in their eyes reminiscing is just wonderful.
I mainly get vegetables from my mom when she gets extra when she helps out at the church pantry.
Most of the people coming don't really want fresh things anymore. Boxed, over-processed items are easier, although they are loaded with salt and alternatives, the health aspect kind of goes out the window when you are short on time and even shorter on funds.
I plan to do a bucket garden this year. Tomatoes in one, and cucumbers & squash in another. Looking forward to seeing what happens with my green thumb attempts.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
@susansharp112
Hi there. Medicaid and Medicare are two different things.
She said Medicaid (which is income dependent)
You said Medicare (which acts as a supplement, but if one doesn't qualify based on living $1 above guidelines, the private pre-retirement employer insurance (if the company hasn't folded) is the primary (and if the window is missed, that premium could be a challenge as well).
One depends on income guidelines and acts as a supplement to pick up what the other doesn't cover. (I always have to look at the written explanations when I'm figuring out my In-laws' medical convoluted issues in November & December for January.)
My MIL has had migraine blackouts (like, dropping groceries in the stairwell w kids blackouts) stemming from childhood trauma. But it wasn't considered neurological back then. So her 'work' was home things (babysitting (and No, opening a licensed daycare at home wasn't an option when you're blacking out), laundry, etc).
FIL was a skycap for the Port Authority. So basically tips were what paid the mortgage.
So even at below minimum wage, he didn't qualify for Medicaid for her even before retirement because the tips had to be reported as income, bringing the salary to between $30-$60k in the '70s through the early '90s.
And being able to move from projects to a home out on the Island was no small feat esp on one income.
But they did it.
So at retirement, they have an employer sponsored primary retiree plan and Medicare (I think...I still get SOOO confused without my notes) is the secondary for things not covered.
But then there's health issues that have cropped up...he finally quit smoking, but the secondary smoke contributed to her bronchitis, asthma, he's had strokes, she's had thyroid issues, RA, cataracts, hip surgeries, etc.
Then there are things not covered at all like some hearing aids, some dental care is only partially covered.
There's a lot that goes into qualifying and how much.
~Just hoping to clarify some things.
1
-
1
-
I agree! I've been told by people I no longer affiliate with that my "perfectionism" is what ruined the relationship.
But I never considered basic responsibilities (paying for lights, gas, water on time) as being 'perfectionistic.'
I was seen as "not living life." (Kinda hard to live life w creditors garnishing checks in my opinion.)
I find that I shouldn't have to subject my stewardship and desire to prioritize obligations to another's desire to handle things haphazardly.
That distinction between high standards, pursuit of quality, and ambition from perfectionism is very much needed.
My standards of requiring to know how someone I may desire to pursue a relationship with treats others is a high standard (to me) (Do they belittle or condescend others just because they don't know a lot about something? Money doesn't give anyone the right to down another.)
Re: Pursuit of quality. My daughter was teased and laughed at for choosing the local 4-year college that she graduated from Magna Cum Laude on scholarships when she could have chosen from among 20 big-named ones.
I always told her there are plenty of geniuses who graduated from ABC around the corner college and plenty of imbeciles who graduated from Oxford and Harvard!
She chose quality (a college where she was just far away enough to be independent, taught her what she needed, and is one of the most culturally diverse in the country with over 70 nations represented. Yet, she was still close enough to have her support base. She chose this over what others saw for her. She signed on as a marketing logistics mgr w an international company, closed on her home on acreage last month & will be 24 in June. No student loan debt.
Yes, she's making some mistakes, but she's such a thoughtful, aware, kind soul, I couldn't ask for a better life for her.
Re: Ambition for perfectionism will kill a dream every time. I have to drill into myself daily that I'm progressing not perfecting.
I'd rather do a task with excellence (that is to the best of my ability, cleanly, and properly) than to keep starting over just because step D wasn't perfect (now, if it's open heart surgery or something, that's different).
My job entails scheduling about 800 students per year (it's a small school) for the next year. BUT that means complying with Fed, state, & county guidelines for funding. I can't just schedule an autistic student in w any class. The teacher has to have specific certifications, then all the courses have to be approved by the County,state & Fed govt. Then there's speech, cognitive subjects, social skills in addition to core classes and specials (health, music, STEM, foreign language, PE, art).
Then there's ESOL classes if they are non English speakers to get the resources to assist w their native language as well as English.
When I first accepted the position, I would cry incessantly because I was so afraid of not getting the schedules perfect. So I wouldn't do ANYTHING! But I wouldn't reach out to my mentor, I wouldn't reach out to other Student Data mgt clerks, I couldn't MOVE! I was so terrified of making a mistake, I wouldn't schedule ANY students! Then, when my error report would come, I'd have 800 errors!!🥺😬
But I had to reel myself in and think of how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. I FINALLY convinced myself to at least schedule 100 students a day and see what my error report looks like the next day. A lot of times, the errors were just because I had not scheduled them with ANY teachers!
The error report would tell me what courses I might be missing, it would tell me if I missed an ELL segment, it would tell me if the teacher I had scheduled the student with was not certified in a specific area. Then I could look down on my list, in all these notes that I had taken, and I could find a specific teacher, that I may not have pulled on to our school list & follow the steps to move the student.
Within two weeks, I was down to less than 50 errors a day! I created a formula to follow and prioritize and I was no longer running out of Kleenex daily🤣
This is my 3rd year.. I still get flubbed up and frustrated at times. But as long as I've gotten those students partnered where they need to be to get the resources they need, I'm okay. I literally get an error report daily, but that's where I can go to an admin and say, "hey, this student is supposed to get extra this & that, but s/he's not scheduled, who do we get to approve it?"
Excellence (consistency, double checking, and REACHING OUT FOR HELP) over perfection (if it's not exact and precise the first time, I'm not doing it ever again) wins the day!
And being kind to oneself is a game changer as well ☺️
1
-
1
-
Home training! Preach IT!!
I put in the discipline referrals in my elementary school daily. Kids will be suspended if their foul language, if they bite, hit, kick, threatened, if they so much as violate any of the rules which their parents were supposed to have read through because they acknowledge them when they enrolled them, they are written up.
We had one little boy who was 5 years old and on the first day of school, he did not want to come. He slapped his mother in the face several times. And she just stood there.
He hit his teacher twice and was timed out first time, suspended the second.
Needless to say, he didn't have to complete kindergarten. And since kindergarten is not mandatory, he has been sitting home all day everyday. She called us last week...LAST WEEK with him screaming in the background asking could she enroll him in kindergarten.😮 I told her we have 4 weeks left of school. You can enroll him but the minute that he lays hands on that teacher he will be suspended AGAIN.
So we can see what she's been doing with him at home.
A..b..s..o..l..u..t..e..l..y..NUTHIN'
1
-
So as I finished posting my comment, a suggested video comes on for Dr. Phil and the title is, "My daughter is a lazy, lying mooch who neglects her..."
Hmm...wonder how she was enabled to do that?
My oldest deliberately allowed his hours to be cut from a retail job.
I asked him did he not know what to do? You need to find three more jobs at 10 hours a piece.
He didn't like that answer.
So I contacted my brother who is a retired Marine corps recruiter, and he came and took him down to the recruiting office. (So much for the 'I can't find it.'🙄)
That son is now medically retired and a corrections officer and certified welder.
Second son tried the same thing.
He served 6 yrs, earned Spec Ops, came out as a sergeant, inactive reserves. Studying broadcast journalism.
Last little Birdy didn't need the lesson.
Pushed through college, graduated Magna Cum Laude on every scholarship she could find, just signed on with an international marketing company. Just closed on acreage in South GA. She'll be 24 in June.
They ALL address elders w Miss or Mr. in front of the name.
Even the 8, 6, 5 & 3 yr old next door AND the parents address me with Miss in front of my name.
When did respect become so disrespectful?
Guess Common sense just ain't so common any more 😔
1
-
My sympathies to those who have lost their children. My youngest was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer at the age of five. I have never felt more confused and scared in my entire life than when I got that diagnosis from the ER. Through pure grace and lotttssss of chemo and question upon questions and answers, she will be 24 this June.
@ 11:35, I concur COMPLETELY!
I'm in an 1800 sf tri level split, 4 br/2 baths on half acre.
My last Birdy just flew the nest. My oldest two are military, so in a sense, nomads themselves!
My friend and I both made our Exoduses from tumultuous situations an average of 6 yrs ago.
We started traveling and he gifted me w blown up pictures he'd taken throughout our excursions. He mounted them on canvas and hodge podged to get the brush strokes.
I took a whole weekend and decluttered my den.
I arranged the N. Ga mountains on one wall, the Gulf Coast and Florida on another, and Tybee Island lighthouse & beaches on another.
Then I just looked around the empty bedrooms and redid my lighting w lamps I already had. The den is 14x17.
I have a gifted sectional that I sleep on more than my own bed. I cut the cable and haven't missed a thing, especially that outrageous bill!💸💸
The den abuts the eat-in kitchen. I use one bathroom and have a small bedroom downstairs that houses my office area.
So out of 4 br/2 baths, 2 dens (one downstairs has a separate entrance), an enclosed, carpeted & vented w ac 2 car garage (and it's a 1974 garage, so you know how big the cars were back then!😂), I used that area as my overflow dining room when I hosted Christmas my first year here. We sat 25 people comfortably in there on two extended long tables and still had room for a dessert table, and a Christmas tree on top of a card table in another section of the room!
Out of all this space, I use 2 rooms, a kitchen, & 1 bathroom.
I'm like, make this make sense! 😮
My back yard is beautiful, but I honestly prefer pots for my flowers.
I might go out on my little covered patio, but everyone is so busy, it's just me & the birds most days.
There are 11 homes on our street, all on half acre lots. I only know the neighbors in passing because everyone is too busy working to pay the mortgages and taxes.
Less than 400 ft from us, a builder bought the little house on the corner on a 2.5 acre lot. He petitioned to have it rezoned from single family to townhomes to add to the 215 units already encroaching upon us.
We petitioned for bungalow style, single level, smaller homes (all the townhomes are 13 stairs to get in. Some do have an entryway through the garage, but when you're inside, you have to still do stairs to get to the main level. So this is definitely NOT a welcome for senior relatives or mobility challenged people.) NONE are ADA compliant. There are high lips on the ones with street level entryways and those may have a downstairs bedroom & living area, but then the two bedrooms upstairs are inaccessible if a wheelchair and challenging if a walker is involved.
It's like it wasn't even a consideration for people that may need or want this type of housing.
We went to every meeting for the past 3 years with the commissioners and the builders.
I guess he who had the most money won because after it was approved, the chairperson of the board of commissioners gave herself a 20% raise... I must have missed THAT on the ballot 🤔
All the townhomes also start at high $500k😵💫
Anyway, back to the matter at hand. My last little birdie just moved 2 hours south to rural GA and purchased an almost two-acre lot on a pecan grove that also has orange and apple trees. She was born and raised in this town and cannot stand the congestion and I can't blame her.
Who knows, maybe by the time I retire in 9 yrs, the regulations will allow full time RV living and I can rent a little section of her acreage.
I did come across a tiny home community one county over from me. They were built by a non profit called the Microlife Institute. The area is a little busy, but it was sort of an oasis once you turned in when I finally found it. It is on a bus route, and the county it's situated in does have lower taxes.
They do give tours of the homes every few months and they have a guest speaker. I take it the homeowner will probably be the host of the tour.
I'm looking forward to just getting a close-up look. It'll be right at the beginning of Summer so hopefully it'll be right before this Georgia heat hits equator-ish temps 🫠😂
I've seen more people in one spot in this video than I've seen ALL WEEK on my street.
Now, THIS is what a TRUE community looks like!
Looking forward to finding a tiny home base just over the border of GA into TN (no income tax 😉), van living on the weekends and providing my court reporting services more when I retire from the public school system here.
9 yrs isn't so far away. And with the looks of things and the townhouses encroaching, I just might be looking at RV living a lot sooner than later until I retire.
I really can't tell you enough how much I appreciate your channel.
I turned 54 last week. And seeing older, female vanlifers, and people that just had very real experiences, whether they just took the leap, or the leap pushed them, it's just refreshing to see REAL people in REAL situations facing REAL issues and making REAL solutions.
Thank you so much!
🚗☁️☁️
1
-
1
-
It might be a little off-kilter, but you could look to volunteer in the media center at a local elementary school a few times a week reading to classes
and volunteering with helping to check in the materials and help with inventory. We are so short-staffed, every department needs help.
Then drop by the teacher bar in the cafeteria for lunch. You could get an ala carte item of a baked potato, something to drink, either a side salad that you make yourself (so pile it high), side of veggy and you could pretty much pile it up with whatever toppings you want, and those 4 items would be 40 cents a piece.
If you wanted to then get an entree (which I usually don't do because the baked white or sweet potato is more than filling), it would make it $4.
But imagine going into a warm or air conditioned building, staying there from 10:00 a.m. until school dismisses, you have a place to stay, contributing to the children, warm or air conditioned accommodations, private bathrooms, and a hot meal, and all that for less than $4 a day.
With the way things are going, we have more volunteers in our buildings than we do teachers. All volunteers have to go through a criminal background check, but that usually takes about 2 weeks.
You could also look into volunteering at the local library as well. It will give you a place out of the elements for the majority of the day and use of a computer when you need it.
~Just some thoughts.
1
-
@ 6:20 last I remembered the 1st amendment gave freedom of speech. But even without that, I don't remember you ever standing over anyone with a rubber hose and ski mask threatening anyone to watch your videos. (In my best Mr. T voice & scowl, "You betta watch and listen to all my 'Bible stuff,' FOOL!😡" (Those of us old enough to know will remember 😆)
Just as YOU are free to post on YOUR channel content that YOU'VE come up with and that is dear to YOUR heart (anyone care to venture what the theme is here?🤔), other people are free to NOT watch/listen. I mean, let's face it, unless we're in, oh, say, GRADE school, this really shouldn't be an issue (teacherteacherteacher (while pulling on teacher's shirt sleeve incessantly) she's using my airwaves to talk about something I'm not interested in and it's bothering me! Make her stoppp...wah wahwahhh😭)
And what does the teacher inevitably ALWAYS say?
One doesn't HAVE to listen. But unlike elementary school where one may request to move one's seat, one doesn't even have to sit near Carol. One can ignore her, unsubscribe from her channel, actually get up and NOT access the phone or computer every 30 seconds and (here's a novel idea) one can choose to spend time NOT surfing & trolling the web and actually cultivate a new hobby, teaching a child or another person a new skill or sharing an interesting hobby (my walking sticks are almost ready to sell at the summer farmer's mkt. Oak and elm, uniquely inlaid w shells and smashed pennies from all over, sturdy, and fun (Amazon's got NOTHIN' on these😊) and this is my second yr.), maybe actually teaching a child to ride a bike, make a container garden, read a BOOK.
We're working on screening in our patio together. Best hubs/wife project EVER. Downsizing and checking out a tiny festival coming up soon. Revamping the budget, cooking from the deep freezer, creating new concoctions.
Besides this post, last time I accessed something was last night when we fell asleep on Star Trek reruns 😆
The drift is gotten, I'm sure.
Don't know if the AI algorithm will even post this, but what have I got to lose?
The points are:
No one is being forced to watch/listen.
Of all the online videos, it's refreshing to find one where I don't have to be bombarded with belligerent, idle vulgarity, scantily clad (if at all) shakers of their 'groove thangs' and front grills of teeth that give reflectix some serious competition 🤣
Thankful that your hands are neither jazz nor crotch dwelling.
Thankful that you are humble enough to say when you don't know enough about something.
Thankful that I'm able to access something (buckle up & get ready for it) that I CHOOSE to on my little non-fancy, no contract for 24 yrs, (as somebody wrinkled their nose and said) ugly phone. She said I NEED to get a specific phone. Funny, I don't remember it being a problem for ME.
Just as tuning into your channel (or not) shouldn't be a problem for another, NOT tuning into it shouldn't be an issue.
That's my two cents (I would have more, but I haven't turned in my cans for deposit yet🤣)
P.S. Thank you for the other channel links, too. I'm on L.A.V.ALindys Awesome Van adventures and it's great to see someone I can relate to as well. I'm almost caught up.😊
~Thank you and be well.
🚐☁️
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1. Woop woop for Discount Tire!! (Not to be confused with Tire Discounters).
They were recommended to me by a mechanic friend when I made my Exodus and I was all of a sudden thrust into taking care of my own cars.
They haven't done me wrong yet! Affordable, free rotations, free tire repair, price match, quick service! I'm in Lawrenceville, GA.
2. Anyway, I'm a recovering food addict. I've never been close to the 600lb lifers, but I've had to (and still do) come to grips with the fact that I will NEVER EVER EVER be a size 2 or 4 again. But that's okay! I've gone from a not so healthy 16 to a very healthy 12. After 3 beautiful now adult children, I think I'm doing pretty darned good!
I've replaced the high salt high fat high sugar choices with more fruits, more raw veggy & making my own treats with healthier contents (minus the tofu, thank you 🤣)
I still have a Hershey square or two, but I'm no longer a whole bar in one sitting typ-a chick!
I've also come to terms with the fact that just because a new Dr. wants to shove me full of pills, doesn't make it right for me.
I have the choice (and I did) to find one who will LISTEN and understand then monitor my choice to add more water, exercise, and improve my eating rather than swipe a script and wish me well.
I'm seeing the changes for the better.
I think that's an issue with many of us. We want things to be perfect NOW, when, in essence, perfection is imperfect at its best.
We all need to be kinder to ourselves!
Even the turtle made it to the ark eventually. One step at a time.
1
-
1
-
Ok. First, be honest... how many of us at 7:00 said it: "They can't handle the TRUTH!" I know I did👊🏾
My daughter has absolutely gorgeous nails. Me on the other hand, I am like Fred Flintstonette.
But when I was younger, my nails were the envy of all my friends. They were natural, they were long, I kept them tapered and a little square at the tip, I used white out to give myself a French manicure and many of my so called friends were jealous.
My aunt was mixed race. My grandmother was Blackfoot Cherokee, and my grandfather was Caucasian and black.
Both my grandmother and my aunt had hair that usually came down to their waist. My aunt would deliberately tie her hair up and bunch it under so that it wasn't so long. My hair can grow down to my behind if I wanted to. But the chemo made me realize that I am not my hair. I have had people ask me, when I did have longer hair, where I got my wig from. I chose not to answer them.
My daughter's hair is very thick, natural, and very wavy. When the chemo took her hair out and it started to grow back, people often asked her when it had all grown back where she got her wig from.
It takes a special kind of stupid to even ask that kind of question.
Comments like this about the nails makes me wonder if people actually believe that I go to Starbucks every morning for my homemade mochacocoalatte just because I choose to put it in a reusable Starbucks cup.
It would be like saying I don't have a right to have anything nice just because I get my powdered coffee from a food pantry.
With reference to the integrity, the advent of people being able to bully other people behind a keyboard has just gone beyond out of control.
People post whatever they want, they are nasty, they are vindictive, they hold silent and private grudges that no one else knows about. And then when people can't read their minds, they have the nerve to get outright angry.
It has been said from times of old...... It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
It has also been said to entertain not a fool in their folly.
Some people just have absolutely nothing better to do than to open their mouth and remove all doubt.
🤔
1
-
1
-
1
-
We did our first adult "semi-campout" in the N. GA Mtns last fall. It was EPIC!
Borrowed a camper to boondock in.
I brought simple things I knew we'd enjoy (haven't had McDs or any other fast food in 21 yrs).
Maple sausage & scrambled eggs in veggy wraps, chicken chili in the cast iron wok, sauteed squash & zuchinni swirls w garlic & ginger with air fried chicken strips. Green tea spritzers.
The fridge was small, but we had a cooler, too.
I had made our own walking sticks a few weeks before out of fallen oak branches (I saw them on Amazon, but wanted our own...now I KNOW why people charge so much on Etsy to make unique ones! My hands got a workout but hubs loved his!)
Checking out little roadside apple stands, hiking Amicalola Falls, driving up Brass Town Ball (highest point in GA), then finding a spot to camp out for the night, checking out the Moonshine festival! What a blast!
We have increasingly become disappointed with the hotel options... even with the higher end ones. It was just seem that they would...oh..I don't know...CARE...but maybe that's just me🤷♀️
So for the $$ we had been spending over the last few getaways, we looked into the.small RV as an option, called a friend, and gave it a try and we're HOOKED!
I know it's nowhere near all butterflies and rainbows... But we are willing to take that trade off to be able to be somewhat self-sufficient, not have to lug all our stuff from the car to a hotel room with ogling eyes and then the idea of forgetting something back in the car, breakfast that really shouldn't be called breakfast, and then mattresses that have us waking up feeling worse than when we got there.
Looking forward to our next journey
🚐☁️☁️
1
-
Wow!
I am an enrollment Clerk at my elementary school. This is my 20th year. I have always been a thrift store shopper. And when I started 20 years ago, the cap for my position was $22k. (That's about $10/hr)
I have been told by co-workers that apparently I am being paid too much. Apparently, because I don't LOOK like I make $22k, I'm not supposed to dress well🤦♀️
My hair is done at the beauty college, my nails are on pointe thanks to $tree & Sally Hansen.
We are paid monthly. My mother was a banker for 30 years. She was paid monthly.
She started me with my own savings account when I was five. I learned to add and subtract using an abacus. Everything I have ever purchased has very rarely been new.
At 6, I learned what layaway was and I bought myself a black and white 9 inch television set from TSS stores. This ended the Saturday morning battle over Soul Train and different cartoons between my brother and myself. That TV lasted me until I got married in '91.
As I grew older, my first choice for shopping has been the thrift store. At 18, I was gifted with absolutely beautiful business suits from the DIL of the man who I worked my part-time job through to college. He owned the highest grossing Cadillac dealership on Long Island. I was hired in the service department and stayed there four years through high school then Technical college. A year after my first full time job WHAM! I was laid off, we were evicted, we moved into a room in the in laws' house and I took temp work.
4 months after our first born, we relocated from New York to Georgia. Two more children, LOTTTS of bills, NO budget, & 21 years in, I divorced. I had gotten a job in the school system when our youngest was 5.
I took the children, one dresser each, the deep freezer, and the dryer. I was turned down for three rentals because the credit was shot. The fourth rental said yes. That same year, the school system furloughed us, I was diagnosed with bc, the car was voluntarily repoed, and the house was allowed to go into foreclosure instead of trying to be sold as outlined in the decree. I filed for bankruptcy to get out from underneath the financial obligation of the home that I had left. I had agreed that everything be sold for and all the contents would belong to my former spouse. The foreclosure was out of spite.
That little rental that we found took half of my monthly paycheck, was ant infested, flooded in the crawlspace w every downpour & moldy, but as long as the ceiling didn't leak, code enforcement said there was nothing that could be done. My church members donated everything that they did not want. The ladies group pitched in $10 a piece and brought me a new washing machine though. I liked to call it rustic eclectic! But some of those things were absolutely beautiful. I was gifted a three-piece Ashley furniture set, a beautiful pine kitchen table, a nice little curio (about $10) for some beautiful pieces of Mikasa crystal that I had found in the thrift store, and bed frames for the mattresses that were donated to us. All the mattresses were still wrapped in plastic. I utilized food pantries for 3 years. When I applied for food stamps, I was told that I made $12 too much. When I asked if it was $12 a month, I was told no...$12 a YEAR!😮
My landlord kept trying to have me give him cash. I scraped up enough money to get at least half a month ahead and then I would get a money order before my paycheck would come. Between fighting him to actually give me a lease with terms that were not month to month and fighting for what came to about 50 cents a day in CS for the children, it was a horrible cycle.
I'd always brown bagged my lunch, but I started brown to bag my breakfast, my tea, my snacks, my salad for lunch, pretty much everything.
I was able to qualify for an older model Toyota right before my bankruptcy. It wasn't fancy, it had a good reputation, and it had room to haul around my kids and pick them up after school.
I bartered a lot of services to have them participate in activities. I was one of only three people who knew how to sew a proper hem for the 240 member marching band, I have kept my notary up-to-date for the state since I moved here in 94. So when it was needed that paperwork had to be notarized for the band to take a trip, yours truly was utilized. I didn't charge the standard $4 per notarial duty but I received over $300 in Visa gift cards which went right to my utility bills.
One thing I did not leave when I left my former spouse was my scarves and my business suits. Every day, at my school, I came in dressed like an administrative assistant. Regardless of the fact that I was not. If I needed a new blouse or a skirt didn't fit quite right anymore because of my surgeries, I would reach out to some of my church members and see if any of them had any clothes that they no longer wanted.
I had co-workers that would tell me how they were getting at least $600 for one child in child support and how I should have gotten a better attorney. Way to encourage😕
I had people tell me that I should just stop paying the rent until the landlord fixes whatever needed to be fixed... Well that would be great because all he'd have to do is evict me then fix it. Not every state has laws that make sense. People really should know the county ordinances in the town that they're talking about before they start spewing information. I might be able to get on the people's court, but I would be homeless.
I went home, and when the heat was out, we would plug in our little space heater or electric blankets. I would call up the gas company and let them know that the gas was out because the landlord had not fixed the furnace so they would credit me for the days that I did not have gas.
When a water pipe burst, I called up the water company and let them know. I turned off the main valve to the house and I packed up the children and we went up to the local YMCA for them to take showers and get ready for school.
Oftentimes, we would have many potato dishes from the free potatoes that I could get from the huge bin in front of the food pantry. As long as you brought your own bag, you could pick out what you wanted and sometimes there were lemons and onions as well.
Most times after my rent, light, gas, and $40 cell phone, I had $150 at the end of the month (about$37+/- a week). This had to last for the next 4 weeks to cover gas to and from work. A volunteer at my school graciously donated one of the huge box televisions and I found a converter box in a thrift store somewhere. The volunteer also gave us a DVD player and about five seasons of Murder She Wrote on DVD.
My oldest enlisted to take off some of the stress.
Every day when I went home, I would take off my work clothes and hang them up, sometimes I would spray them with freshener.
We didn't qualify for the low-cost internet so many times I had to drop by the library for the children to complete their homework assignments. They would be there sometimes until it closed.
I volunteered while they did their work.
When we would get home, if the heat was out, we would get into our pajamas very quickly, choose our clothes for the next day, pack lunches, put everything in the refrigerator, make sure everything was ready to go the next day by the door, and then we'd all get under our electric blankets and settle in for the night. I would boil a pot of water on the stove for them to take wash ups in the morning.
No one at my job even thought we were without heat, hadn't gone to a grocery store in three years, or that ALLL my clothes come from a thrift gift or hand me ups.
My mom used to always say that just because you don't have doesn't mean that you have to look like you don't have. This is not to be confused with trying to keep up with the Joneses.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with having something decent that can bring a little Joy to the face.
It is absolutely preposterous to think that just because someone is either forced to live in a car or chooses to, or has meager means living in sticks and bricks that they shouldn't have something that is clean, nice, or even in my case as with my Mikasa crystal that is just beautiful.
Before the chemo took my hair out, I would scrape together my $10 and go to the beauty college to get my hair done. The students in there did nails for $5. Many of them had already learned their technique they just needed a certification so that they could incorporate.
My sister-in-law used to have the most fabulous nail art, people thought she would go to the salon. She didn't tell them anything. She would give the student the money that she would have given to the professional.
My niece learn to do her own nails just as the friend in the other video you had.
It's like you have to look like Eddie Murphy when he was in Trading Places or you're not legitimately homeless.
Now, if it is somebody who is refusing to get work, who always is asking for money instead of food, if the person is walking around sporting Mr T chains, and is living in his Lamborghini because his Maserati is in the shop, I have a little bit of a problem.
But if it is somebody who chooses to keep a wedding band or a sentimental piece from a deceased spouse or friend and the family pet is the only source of companionship and protection, I don't see a problem with having a few nice things.
That's my two cents about that... And, as always, I would have more, but I haven't turned in my cans for the deposit yet 😎
~as always, you have given a very insightful video.
Let us all keep in mind, there will always be naysayers.
It will never be my job to convince a fool of their folly. Some people are just going to believe that things are not real. No matter what. There are some people that do not believe that are exists..... I just find it ironic that those people actually use air to spew the nonsense that they do.
~Safe travels and safer stays to all
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Re: the Posi-vibes challenge:
My daughter gifted me with an echo dot a while ago. It took me a full year to even want to set it up. I only use it for my alarm clock and I do use it because I like the ease of accessibility to info (traffic as I'm heading out, weather in a state we may be heading to a week ahead), listening to a specific artist while I'm doing housework, etc (although I do have a record player as well (there's nothing like Nat King Cole on the record player around the holidays. Love the popcorn crackle of the albums 🥰)
I also am very well aware that it runs algorithms on things that you say and do even when you don't access it.
So I'm very careful about what I access on it.
Mainly it's the weather, and my favorite jazz stations.
But when I first get it up in the morning, I ask it to tell me today's positive affirmation.
And she tells me a 10-second affirmation.
There are affirmations for morning, noon, and night. And there are generic affirmations for the day.
And if you ask for one for the day, and then ask it again immediately after, the affirmation will be different.
I have absolutely no problem with receiving three or four different positive affirmations.
I, by no means, ignore what's going on in the world. I also set a timer for 3 minutes and I tell it to share what's in the news today.
I tell you, after that 3-minute litany of 'news' I welcome the positive affirmations.
I will continue doing this as part of my daily positive start. And I am not saying that nothing bad will ever happen, or that I expect everything to go all rainbows and butterflies throughout my day.
I also read a chapter of Proverbs that coincides with the day. It takes about 2 minutes, if that. There are 31 chapters, so, say on the 24th day of the month, when I get up, I will read Proverbs chapter 24. I like to use different translations so we can give me a different perspective on different ways to implement and do things.
But I don't need to internalize all the negativity that's already out there.
Thanks for the challenge!
Wishing all safe travels and even safer stays!
🚐☁️☁️
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
My mom used to hang a sheet over open doorways in winter and summer in the sweet '32 Cape Cod she & dad bought in '75.
It was a drafty shell of a box on a true basement that had the best bones situated in a little fishing town on Long Island.
Dad bricked up the fireplace that first year and installed a 3-foot cast iron wood burning workhorse. Dad did all of the insulation over, and laid carpet with thick padding underneath as well. He put floor insulation behind the paneling to make it even more efficient. That blanket/sheet hanging forced the heat up the back steps to the bedrooms and it was sooo warm!
Ceramic bowl filled with water and dried flower petals or pine needles to keep moisture in the air and to give the whole house a nice scent.
One year, the oil man even staked out our house. He thought we were going with the other guy and undercutting his business because while our neighbors had to call him three or more times throughout the winter season, we only called him once because the stove kept the house so warm. Dad also worked with a small tree cutting family after his shifts on the LIRR. 3/4 of our backyard was always stacked with firewood.
Now that my last little birdie has flown the coop, making me an empty nester, I have actually driven four carloads (5 including yesterday ☺️) to the Goodwill and the thrift stores of just STUFF that I don't need. Stuff that my two oldest who are in the military are definitely not going to use; clothes that my daughter hasn't worn since middle school are gone; clothes that I can't even get past my thigh are outta here!!😂
And I spend all of my time between my den, my kitchen, the bathroom, and my downstairs bedroom that has an office space in the corner. I push the door up and have an oscillating heater. And I also put on an extra layer of clothing. Sweatpants are NOT evil🤣
So many people think if they're going to be in their home, they're going to blast their heat and the AC and they're going to be comfortable.
I don't have a problem with that, but I do have a problem when ppl do that for five other unoccupied rooms then complain about the bill, right?
I have been looking into some alternatives as my taxes keep going up but my income can't meet it.
I am so grateful that this channel found me!
P.S. I went back to New York a few years ago and that house is still standing, the Big oak tree in front came down a few hurricanes ago.
But the house is still sound. I always said it reminded me of Suzi's house from Miracle on 34th Street. The chain link fence has been replaced with a white picket one and azalea bushes are beautiful when they're in bloom.
I just smile at remembering how rundown and lonely it looked when we first moved in back in '75 to how many families have enjoyed living there.
🚗☁️☁️
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
You make me think of myself when I was interested in joining our church youth choir.
But it was a bit different. It's not specific to one congregation and it's completely a capella (no musical instrument accompaniment)
The group is called the Easternnaires (I think someone added "Electrifying" to the title years ago 🤷♀️ (a lot of their performances are on YouTube ☺️).
The group is still around for over 50 yrs now. It's made up of young people who are members of the Churches of Christ from NY, NJ, CT, & Pennsylvania.& (I think MD). It was started by a beautiful soul named Dorothy Wells from the Harlem congregation. She passed away a few years ago but the group is still going strong. She was in her '90s.
Anyway, our home congregation was hosting the rehearsal one school break. The rehearsals were really the fun part! Traveling from NY to NJ or PA was a big ta do! We'd all have our little brown bags & be @ the little building @ the break of dawn to take the "Blue goose" (our church minivan) to the 2-hr trip to NJ or CT. (Basically , anywhere other than home was exciting!) There, we'd meet up with the other 150+ young adults & teens we'd met over the years.
The group totalled over 300, but there were now grown members who had coordinated via phone & snailmaill to coordinate what songs to rehearse. Then there were about two BIGBIG things where we'd perform. One would be at a youth lectureship that we saved up for throughout the year. It was usually on a college campus (I still remember staying at Yale at 15!! In a dorm!)
The other event was usually a contest of some sort. We came in 2nd one year for a McDonald's Youth Gospel choir recording contest!
Then throughout the year, we'd meet up for local youth weekend events (I met my husband at a Winter Weekend hosted by his congregation. It was checkin on Friday at a host home, workshop & theme breakouts on Saturday, then roller skating that night & after Sunday service & dinner (usually spaghetti because it could feed 300+ young folk & parents) 😊, then we'd put on a concert that afternoon (about 3 songs) & head home. Best times Ever!
There were friends I'd met from Maryland, former members & spouses whose children were now members from CT, just so much support and help and encouragement throughout the years.
Oh! I almost forgot what my original response to you was!🤦♀️
Although I'd been in school chorus since I was 5, it was in the Easternnaires singing group, when I was a new member at 13, that a 'seasoned' member who was all of 16 took me to the side and did a warm up w me. I was so used to straining my voice to hit those high notes. But it was this young lady (I still remember her name: Donna Lisa) who taught me what to do and I discovered I was nowhere near the soprano I was led to believe! I was a true tenor to baritone! My school chorus teacher had always said "true ladies all sound like parakeets" Ha! What crock! I'd grown up on everyone from Mahalia Jackson to Minnie Ripperton & everyone in between, male & female, country, Latin, rock, jazz, reggae, you name it). There was no comparison to either lady. But if I'd only known then what I discovered at 13! No more straining my voice! No more being singled out because I'd slip two octaves down!
It wasn't perfect for her, but it was 'perfect' (and natural) for me!
40+ yrs later, I've loved seeing my daughter earn solos in "The Sound of Music" "Little Shop of Horrors" & honor chorus productions, hitting those notes I'd once dreamed about. And then, as I head out some weekends to pass out food boxes, the more "seasoned' members of our congregation put on a little impromptu songfest on sight with tenors holding the melody for the altos & sopranos to carry the harmony and (usually) our one or two bass to glue it all together.
See! Your story was PERFECT for me! ~Thank you for bringing back such wonderful memories for me!☺️🥰
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
We had the absolute blessing of being able to take a weekend getaway to the north Georgia mountains. We opted for a 500 square foot Airbnb and it was more than enough room. I immediately took out my sketch pad, and started sketching out where I would put things, how I could separate the absolutely beautiful oversized dining area into another bedroom and an office area, where I could put a second bathroom if I needed it, etc. Hubs had to remind me that, 'Hey, this isn't our house.' and my response was always...... But it could be 🤣
I have literally four loads to go to the Goodwill right now.
Our oldest two are military, so nomads in a sense. And our last little birdie just flew the coop. We are heating and cooling 2700 square feet of space and we literally utilize the kitchen, the den, our bedroom, and our office.
We are both within 9 years of full retirement, but I cannot see continually doing this with the taxes hiking up every year and builders bulldozing the acreage surrounding us to slap up townhomes. As if 250 townhomes within a 1.5 mile radius weren't enough.
We have been fighting this battle for well over 4 years and the little guy doesn't count anymore.
They are buying out our lots and suggesting that we choose a town home which starts at $500,000...
I've lived here for 32 years, my house is only valued in the high threes, yet they buy the broken down houses surrounding us for $700,000 to start but won't go above three for mine. But they want the land.
I figure I'm going to try to get out while I'm at the top of the game. When they come for mine, once they start giving the neighbors their High 700,000 checks, I'll take mine too.
I just don't want to be caught out there with no options.
1
-
For the soda, I use seltzer water and mix with 100% (no added sugar, fruit flavor, and lottts of fizz😊)
Rolls, I make my own without yeast or corn bread in the skillet, and I only buy a whole rotisserie chicken if they are marked down and I can get three for the $10. A lot of times, WM will have them at the end of the night with the yellow stickers on them.
I'll freeze two of them.
The one I cook, I'll break apart and saute garlic and onion and bell pepper in my great-great-grandmother's cast iron skillet. (Everything just tastes so much better in it 😊). I'll put the onions & garlic on the bottom and the top and then I'll cover it and just let it simmer down in a little bit of water.
Then I'll cut up whatever vegetable I might have found in the markdown bin and let it steam in the same skillet.
That usually takes us through about 3 days with a side salad.
Then comes the REAL masterpiece: when the dregs get to slim pickins I boil everything down in about a gallon and a half of water. Let it cool, and then I strip the leftover meat off. I take the bones and I let them dry in my little toaster oven. Then I crushed the bones in my pestle and mortar for fertilizer for my bucket garden.
I'm doing tomatoes this year.
When they come, I blanch them, chunk them up and freeze for homemade spaghetti sauce (I got so tired that every single jar of tomato sauce nowadays has olive oil in it. If I wanted oil in my tomato sauce, I would add it myself).
For breakfast I'm back to what my mother used to have to bribe me to eat: oatmeal.
She would have to dump a whole box of raisins in it and then mix it up. That's the only way I would eat it because I'd have to dig out the raisins and then suck the oatmeal off of them😂
Now, I just buy the box, doesn't have to be name brand, and I will chop up peaches, sauteed apples, and maybe a little cinnamon & I will drizzle it with a little bit of honey. I am good for the day.
Our grocery bill hovers at around $70 a month including veggie markdowns and fish from the farmers market. (We have a Nam Dae Mun. Prices are decent & I like that they sell the leftover fish parts after they've filleted the center cuts. I still get a good amount of salmon from the "edges"
~I'm loving reading the suggestions!
1
-
I put my comments on the previous video. If that person chooses to find them then fine. If they choose to not, that will be their loss.
But I want to give you mad props!! You are the quintessential QWA-EEN of CLASS!
@ 0:14, I was honestly waiting to hear it! When you started to say, "Heck, no..H...." But your character is truly CLASS A!
You said, "He...CK to the NO!"
My principal's 23 yr old, 6' 4" son stopped by the school on his way in from the dorms last week. He greeted all of us in the front office by Miss and our first names.
Even my 30 yr old mentee addresses me as Miss Kim and she's not even Southern born!
I have enrolled former students who are now enrolling their little ones (this is my 20th yr) and they (the PARENTS) still address me as Miss Kim or my last name.
It's kind of an unwritten rule that once they have a reached adulthood, they can address me as either by my last name or they can continue to address me by my first name but ALWAYS with Miss in front of it.
I never thought this would become an issue.
I even have younger cousins (I'm talking like 30s) who address me with, 'yes ma'am.'
I was born and raised in New York.
My parents were born in Alabama raised in Tennessee and move to New York in 1964.
We addressed our babysitters and teachers (in New York) with Miss and either their first or last name. It wasn't even a thought to address anybody by their first name.
I still address older members of my church with either miss or Mr. and either their first or last name.
The teenagers address us w Miss or the men w Mr. in front of our first or last name.
There is such an heir of 'privilege' today and then when kids are out of hand or just running rampant or tearing up and destroying other people's private property and then they wonder, 'Well, what happened to the parents? Why didn't they teach them manners?"
But let that same kid get up in the wrong person's face with the, "I'll address you any way I want" and see what'll happen. It may not happen soon, but it'll happen.
Court shows have thrived off this type of foolishness for 40+yrs.
And the criminal court cases have been going on for decades.
I did my internship in Skagit County Superior court. I took first appearances of 18 yr olds who got real humble with the "Yes, sir & No, ma'am" real quick when they'd been locked up.
Pitiful.
1
-
I see it as just a bit of disorganization.
When we went to the North Georgia mountains to an Airbnb for a weekend getaway, hubs was surprised that I had everything except the kitchen sink.
I knew what we were getting into, but we still wanted our own food, our own sheets, our own basics so that we could be comfortable.
As a cancer survivor with open wounds, I could not risk any infection.
And the hotel choices we were finding were just ridiculous.
For a 4-day getaway, I had enough clothes in case we had to change plans, all the different types of food options that could be interchangeable, My own cast iron wok, etc.
It took about 20 minutes to settle in and deep clean and for the rest of the time we were more than content.
We probably had the same amount of things that he has in that minivan in my little Toyota, just a little bit more organized.
Also have to think of where he's traveling to. He might get rid of most of those things when he gets to where he is.
If he likes it, I love it!
😎🚗☁️☁️
1
-
I tell you, the things we take for granted! Sending good vibes and wishes for the days to be able to wear shoes comes sooner than later!
I am the 6th direct generation of bunions. We are born w them. I wore EE walkers at 12 months.
My sons wore EEE Buster's Brown's when they walked. My daughter doesn't have them.
I was teased incessantly, seems like from kindergarten on. "Claw toes, knobby knuckle numbs, ugfeet, etc."
It also didn't help in grade school that every end of the year field trip was always to the beach 🙄
Later, my former MIL actually said she couldn't fathom why her son would want someone with such ugly feet. She said if she were me, she'd keep sneakers on all the time...gee...thanks for accepting me🤦♀️
She dubbed me "Sasquatch" when I would come in sandals for family gatherings. I wear anklets in the summer. This was deemed a horror in that I was drawing attention to my "Big foot-itis".
But I wasn't in pain & chose not to have surgery. They don't bother me as long as I have the proper cut of shoes. And I can and do have nice shoes & cute functional sandals.
I've trained my toes to sit next to each other instead of on top, and I began a regimen of coco butter, Vaseline & socks since 1st grade so there was never ash or dryness. I polished mine like everybody else.
But I also learned I had perfect feet to go on pointe within my first year of ballet at 7, and earned the lead in three performances each year.
My balance was exceptional on beam and landings for the 10 yrs I was in gymnastics.
My feet may have been ugly to some, but they were mine, they were big & oddly shaped but they were mine. At 4'11" I've been in size 9 (10 in boots) since I got my first pair of heels at 15.
I am grateful every day I can walk (even when 'Arthur' (short for arthritis) makes a visit) unassisted.
There is a third grader who has progressive rheumatoid arthritis at my school. When it rains, she is in excruciating pain. She walks with the help of a rolling walker every day, but some days she has to use her wheelchair. She also has brittle bones. She's been in a foot brace for close to all year.
I'm glad you're healing & found something constructive and enjoyable to watch.
Sending you good vibes for a wonderful recovery!🎉
🚐☁️☁️
1