I have stumbled across another blog, MY GIRL; a blog written by a mother for her daughter with MHE. This girl, named Daryl, is only going into grade eight and has already faced a lot of pretty heavy things. In October of 2006, she was hit by truck while crossing the road. On top of that, she just had surgery. Go send her some love. Take it from me, hearing messages from friends – or even kind words from strangers – after a surgery helps. Anita and Daryl are pretty new to the blogging world, so show them a warm welcome and show them how embarcing our online communties can be.

Finding people online blogging about the same thing as I do is always such a pleasure. It’s amazing having someone to relate to, to give advice to and receive advice from. It’s rather freshing. Truthfully, I sometimes feel so lonely and cut off from the world.

My feelings on MHE go either way; some days I embrace being different, other days I hate it and all I want is to fit into society’s idea of “normal”. I don’t want to have to think about doctor appointments, worry about troublesome bones, and feel tired all the time. I do have a message for every single person with MHE or any other kind of disorder, and that is this;

Some days we need to break down, just to pick ourselves up again. It’s good to cry and get out all that frustration and anger. Keeping it bottled up inside will eventually lead to worser problems. If you feel like your standing on the edge of a cliff with nobody there beside you, talk to someone. Vent a little. Buy a journal or diary, or even start a blog. It helps. It helps to cry, it helps to laugh. Accept who you are and accept the fact that nobody is perfect, we all have our problems in life and we’re all [truthfully] a little crazy. 

I know it’s harder said then done. I’m the sort of person to give out really good advice and when the time comes, not follow it. I will know what I should do but be unable to for some reason. I try though, and that’s the truth. I’ll be trying for the rest of my life, but thats ok. I know that there are good and bad things in everybody’s lives!

So Daryl, I hope you are recovering fast from the surgery you had on July 12th. I hope all went well. I know sometimes MHE can be rough on you, especially in high school – when it feels like everything is rough and totally unfair. But stick in there!

The sun is shining, and its really warm out. The perfect day to get started on the garden or other outdoor chores – although I won’t. I’ve never really had a green thumb. I tried for a while there, when I was about 6 or something and my Papa dug me a garden in the back yard. Pulling out weeds frustrated me though because it seemed like the very next day they were back again.

In any case, my legs are very pleased that the weather is getting warmer. Winter didn’t really treat me so grand, and yesterday I found myself in a lot of discomfort and pain because it was damp and raining out. The car ride up to the college had been rather long for me, because I felt so uncomfortable in the back seat – even though I tried to spread myself out a bit. So I’m happy for the break from rain and dampness, and I plan on taking advantage of this break by maybe reading on the back porch. Or at least opening all the windows in the house.

I recently got my mom into blogging, just because I think it would be good for her. I should make a pillow or something that says “blogging is good for the soul”. Anyway, she seems to really like it so that’s good. I hope she doesn’t discredit me and admit what a horrible suck I really am! I also tried talking my friend Mandy into getting a blog, and she says she’s going to update it when she has more time. Maybe she’ll write a bit about MHE too, so keep an eye out for her. I know she hasn’t updated it yet, but I expect good things from her; she’s also a fan of writing.

I’ve recently been emailing another girl my age with MHE, Meaghann. We have a lot in common too, which is odd. She too loves to write and keeps a blog (which is not as often updated as mine, but I don’t have any other hobbies heh). So I was happy to find out that someone else shares the same hobby as myself; updating blogs.

The future is still unclear on if I’ll be going to the MHE Gathering or not. I still haven’t heard if I got the Sunrise summer student job yet. If I did, then I won’t be attending this year because I’ll have to work that weekend. It sucks how one of the camping weekends that as I summer student I would have to attend falls on the weekend of the MHE Gathering, especially since my dad said I could go this year. I really do need the job though, so if I get it I can’t complain or beg for it off. $10.50 an hour would really help me out, especially with college in the fall. I would be able to help lessen the finanical burden on my parents.

Speaking of that, I’m going to apply for a million more bursaries. Anything I qualify for, I’m applying for. I somehow need to find the extra cash to buy a laptop, which I will most certainly need in college. I currently have a Compaq Presario. I can barely lift it, so I need something that’s very light weight but still really good for memory and all that high tech jazz. If you have any suggestions, let me know so I can inform the college.

Now if you excuse me, I’m going to research the different kinds of bursaries the college offers and apply to all the ones I qualify for, then I’m going to go outside and enjoy the nice day!

Today on the drive home from co-op, my dad and I were discussing this years MHE Gathering and my possiblity of going. I told him how I haven’t seen Mandy in 5 five years – since our first meeting at Wheels Inn. He told me that I could plan something for this summer and he would make sure that it happened; it just has to be sensible. Although I’ve been a part of the Bumpy Bone Club for years now, I’ve never gone to an MHE Gathering, it’s always been too far away or we just didn’t have the time or money to go. I’ve also only ever met two people with MHE – Mandy and her mother – so it will be good meeting more people with MHE. It should be an interesting experience – if I ever get to go.

I also spoke about my fears of never being able to afford my own car. He told me that since they wouldn’t get anything for our current car if they wanted to trade it in for a new one, then I could probably just have it – free of charge. That takes a load off of my mind, as being able to afford a car has always been one of my biggest concerns. I know that I’ll never be able to work a normal “teenage” job because they are all shift work where you have to stand on your feet for hours on end, and I just can’t do that. If I did manage to grin and bear it, I still wouldn’t be able to work enough shifts to even consider buying a car in this lifetime, and I’ll need a car to get to college. Plus, who wants to wait until they’re 30 to buy their first car?

My dad let me drive up the driveway today, since I’ve finally got my G1. I’m a little slow on switching from the gas peddle to the break, and I imgaine that will take some getting used to. So I’ll have to keep practising in the driveway. But it’s a start! At first I was really nervous because I didn’t know if my ankle would lock up. I guess to ensure that it doesn’t happen I’ll have to keep practising and doing exercises to make sure I have full control over my ankle movements. Both my sisters had to worry about lead foot, so it’s no surprise that I totally have to worry about it.

And since I won’t be able to start college until September of 2008, I’ve decided that I’m going to search for a part time job I can physically [and emotionally] do. I’m going to give the go-ahead to my mom about the summer babysitting job she offered. At first I thought the idea was horrible - babysitting a 7 year old girl and a 10 year old boy has got to be wearing on your energy – but I decided if I carefully planned out our days and made sure they were packed full of entertaining things to do then I wouldn’t have a problem for it. On sunny days they could come instead over to my house and use the pool and do outdoor activities, and on rainy days we could stay inside and do various crafts or games. I have a PS2, so all I’ll have to do is place the boy in front of that if he doesn’t feel like doing crafts on those rainy days. Sounds good right? And I’ll be able to save up a little money!

Then I’ll look around for a suitable part time job for the school year that I won’t be going to school to save up more money, but I’ll worry about that after summer.