Getting the Boot

MS, packing and stressing

“Well we’re movin’ on up

To the east side…”

 

I have no idea why this song is stuck in my head.  Perhaps it’s because I’m in the process of moving?

Maybe.

But this is no move up although I think it is to the east side.  As in the east side of the affordable rental complex I was able to secure a spot in.  Since I got the call that after years on a wait list a unit was available, and my name was up, this song has been stuck in my brain.  And now I feel bad that I’ve probably stuck the opening song from a so/so 70’s sitcom in your brain as well.

Let me try to make it up to you.

 

“Good luck movin’ up

Cause I’m movin’ out

Movin’ out”

 

Did switching to a Billy Joel song help?

No?

Me neither.  I can still see George Jefferson and Weezy walking into their new building, George’s arms swinging away and practically hitting Weezy’s butt.

Sorry, I tried.

Since learning that I’m moving I’ve been pretty busy with packing and by that, I mean with downsizing.  My new place is smaller than I’m used to.  That’s ok- downsizing is good.

Most of my getting ready has involved decisions about what to take with me and how to get rid of stuff that I can’t.  Decisions are not easy on an overwhelmed MS brain.

And I’m not extravagant; I don’t have a lot of stuff.  But still, stuff creeps in over the years.  The beachy centerpiece looks nice on my end table but the end table is getting the boot.  Should I toss the centerpiece? But it’s from my friend’s wedding.  How can I throw that away?

What about clothes from my previous professional life- what if I figure this crappy MS fatigue and cognitive thing out and have a professional life again?  Shouldn’t I keep them?  But will they all fit in one closet as opposed to the two I have now?

Then there’s how to pack.  I seriously found this box at a liquor store.

Too bad an MS walker doesn’t fit in it.

And so the list goes.  After that comes the actual packing, followed by the re-organizing and the address changing and all the busy associated with moving that I haven’t even thought of yet.

What’s the point of all of this you ask?

Well, there’s two.

One is that like anything and everything else, when you throw multiple sclerosis into the mix, it gets more difficult, more exhausting, more overwhelming and just more…

Second, since it’s kind of insane around here, my blog may be a little quieter than usual.

I know, try to contain your tears my friends, I’ll miss you too.  I’ll think about you throughout this entire process; if only to get that damn Jefferson’s theme out of my head.

If history is any indication, MS will surely give me some MS stories to share with you once I’m ensconced in my new apartment and have unpacked my laptop.

In the meantime, I did want to leave you a gift story that my MS friends can likely relate too.

My cool aunt bought her nieces Uggs for Christmas.  I’d never thought much about Uggs myself but my cheap boots and the water proof spray weren’t cutting it so I was pretty excited.

As my aunt lives about two hours away we were only able to meet up recently and so I only just tried them on, try being the operative word.

At first, I wasn’t sure why I was having trouble. They were my size.  Were my calves too fat- is that why the Uggs were hard to get on?

Once I did get them on they were like heaven, like walking on clouds.  They are so comfortable that I never want to take them off.  And they are so tough to put on and off I might not ever be able to take them off.

But I manage.

Until the other day when the moving process and Uggs and MS collided.

I had taken all the cute pictures kids in my life had drawn off my refrigerator.  What was left was goobs of sticky goo from all the tape.  I couldn’t leave the fridge like that for the next tenant and so I scrubbed at it over and over to try to get it off.  I blasted my music to help with the energy and eventually was able to cross that moving task off my list.

The next day my arms hurt like hell.  We tend to forget about MS when we feel ok and are accomplishing something.  This pisses MS off and it insists on reminding us that it’s always around.

Still, I had somewhere to go and dammit, MS or no, I was going to wear my new comfy boots.

Have I ever mentioned the cognitive and decision difficulties that come from MS?

After a great struggle with my painful and clearly weakened arms, a struggle that took minutes, I got the right Ugg on.

Ahhhh, my right foot was in shoe heaven.

The left boot was not willing to cooperate.  This brawl was harder.  It was me against boot and I was losing.

Now I had a problem.  I could give up and just wear another pair of boots but would I be able to get the right Ugg off?

I seriously considered heading out into the world with two different boots on my feet.  I was only going to my writing group and writers are artistic and spacey; they probably wouldn’t even notice.  A missing comma, sure, but two different boots?

Never.

But with one final huge thrust (is this what giving birth is like?) born of frustration, anger and desire to have super comfy feet, I got the left boot on.  The battle was over and I was the shoe victor.  My feet can reign in warm, soft victory forever.

Later I stopped at an Uggs store and the sales clerk said that the Uggs will stretch.

Oh, the irony.  While I’m trying to decrease my stuff and myself, if I gain any weight I may not fit in my new digs, I’m also trying to increase my beloved new boots.  Somehow, in my weird MS world, that makes sense…