A Differently Abled Woman's Fire to Inspire

Your Resolute Resolution I used to dread New Year’s Eve, with the high expectation that one must participate in something exciting and fun. It was almost as if you had to ensure yourself that your fun-filled night foreshadowed the wonderful year that you were about to experience. That was then. Now, I look forward to spending my night with the ones I adore most, and look forward to yet another new year’s term, called the “resolution”. I am usually pretty disciplined when it comes to setting goals, but I think a new year, marks a place in time when we all can set positive goals for ourselves. Like most, I will probably indulge in my last tidbits of chocolate before the clock strikes midnight, and then promise myself to make healthier meal choices and exercise more. But most importantly, I promise to immerse myself in positivity, and take a stance to better our world.  When I think of resolution, the first thing that comes to my mind is the degree of sharpness of an image. S

                 I look at my sister’s hair, with her trendy hot pink streak for breast cancer awareness. “Glob more dye on mine!” I exclaim. The more purple, the better. October is also Domestic Violence Awareness month, and I wanted to raise awareness not only through my writing. My oldest son agreed that he wanted his hair to be purple like Mommy’s, so I was excited. He walked into the bathroom, and looked puzzled at what we were doing. Suddenly, he was changing his mind. “Pretty please!” I begged. He wouldn’t budge. So, I gave him a big wet kiss, and kindly asked him to play with his little brother, and nicely share with him while we finished up my purple highlights.                 “You tried to do what?!” someone asked me later on that evening. “Why on Earth would you do that to your son?” they continued. Why? In order to spread awareness, one sometimes has to do something a little out of the box. Besides, the dye washes out in a couple of hair washings. People may not f

Summers for me growing up meant swimming, swimming and swimming some more. These are my fondest childhood memories. We owned a four- foot- deep pool that was semi-inground with a splinter- prone wrap-around deck. You would have to climb five stairs and reach a gate before accessing the pool and deck. I do not think until we were in high school, were we allowed to go in the pool alone. Surprisingly, we were fine with that. My mom, a teacher, worked mornings during the summer, and then would watch Days of Our Lives before venturing outside. I remember us all lining up at the top of the steps around 1:30pm, basking in the hot summer sun. Do not ask why we would race to the top stair, and line up for over a half an hour.   We would not get into the pool any sooner, and it did not make a difference if you were first on the steps, or third. We all entered the pool within the same five seconds anyhow.  But what I distinctly remember the most, was my mom coming out of the house, e

It was two years ago to the day, that we were on Oprah for Oprah’s Lifeclass Show at Radio City. I remember just living in the moment, and following what the show was all about…being PRESENT. Thought leader, Deepak Chopra emphasized how “NOW” is the moment that will not end. When you come to this realization, you learn to relish in the present, and absorb every detail of the moment.  That day, I had never felt so much energy in my entire life. I remember my husband was pushing me in my wheelchair, while my sister in front of me, slipped off her heals and carried them in her arms as we ran through the back corridors of Radio City to make it to our seats. Watching others run sometimes jabs at a melancholy piece in me and I think back to the best days of cross country and track. However, watching her run through the halls, gave me so much pleasure, and I felt her energy bounce back to me with each step she took. I absorbed the euphoria of the moment. I could almost feel my feet p

March is Women’s History month, so I thought that it would be appropriate to reflect on some women’s issues that have been irking me for the past couple of years. Women have come so far in history, or “herstory”, yet we still continue to allow society to dictate what deems as expected from us women. For example, I thought that childbirth was a natural, “let your hair down,” be yourself kind of process. I was shocked and made to feel insecure, of what childbirth really entails. If you go to many of the popular pregnancy, parenting and baby websites, you will find yourself immersed in a plethora of information for new mothers. Amongst the volumes of advice and lists, you will come across numerous links of what to do before labor and delivery, as well as what to pack in your hospital bag. The “to do’s” I found most amusing were, “ making sure you have pedicured toes before delivery, most certainly you have to have that Brazilian before you go into labor, putting your hair up in a s