Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Here Comes the Sun


Just like the weather outside, it has not been very sunny in my life lately. In the course of one week I lost three assistants due to medical, financial, and other personal matters. And on top of that, I am having family issues, my chair wouldn’t charge for reasons we do not know, and the thing that buckles me in the car is completely broken. I am not telling you this so you can feel sorry for me, rather to prove to you that I am not super woman. As the saying goes, “When it rains, it pours”. And that’s basically how this month has been for me. 

But there has been one person that has been by my side these past couple of weeks the whole time. Even though we didn’t get along the entire time, my mom was always there for me. She has always been my rock but especially during these past couple of weeks. Together I believe we are a force to be reckoned with. In the matter of a week, we have hired and trained three new wonderful assistants, ordered a new battery for my chair, and ordered a new part so I can get in my car again independently. 

I am still feeling down about things but it is people like my mom and other family members and friends that encourage me that everything is going to be alright. The good thing is, during these difficult times, I couldn’t dwell on them too much because I had my Spring Concert MOMENTA show of a Midsummer Night’s Dream. And as they say, “the show must go on”. It was a good way for me to channel my energy in to something positive, especially during such a difficult time in my life. I said to several of my friends these past couple of weeks have been I would say, one of the hardest times in my life in all the years I have been living on my own. There were times I even wanted to give up and say, I’m going to surrender and move back home. But then I thought about the wonderful things that this apartment offers me and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

The week we were hiring assistants, I don’t know if this was ironic or meant to be, I kept hearing the ever popular song, “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles on the radio. Now I don’t listen to the oldies station, so I don’t know why it kept playing this, but I want to believe that deep down in my soul, it was a sign from G-d. It has only been a week with my new assistants, but I am already seeing a little bit of the sun poking through again in the Purple Pad. Having new assistants takes a lot of trust and comfort that comes with having a new person in your life. Especially, when they take on such an intimate role. I have to learn their personality and they have to learn mine. They have to learn what I think is acceptable as my assistant. It is a challenge for all involved, but I can see that there is definitely hope around the corner for all of us. 

As Maddie J.T. Stepanek, a peacemaker who died from a rare form of muscular dystrophy says, “We must learn to play after every storm”. So my mom, my brother Brian, and I have decided to play because it is his Spring break, and frankly we all needed a break, after all that has been going on. We have decided to go to Madison. It is only for one weekend, but we are going to play hard in all the sense of the word and enjoy every minute of it. With that said, I also wish that the sun will poke through not only in the Purple Pad, but outside as well. And in the spirit of Passover and Easter, I know that because the sun is already poking through in the Purple Pad, that it will literally pass over too. Happy Spring to all of you, and in the words of Maddie J.T. Stepanek, “Remember to play after every storm”.

-Jessi