Friday

Yesterday was incredibly busy and exhausting. I had an appointment to get my hair cut for the wedding at 11:30. Not usually a big deal, except that I'm broke and in order to afford the cut, my stylist requests that I come in with freshly washed, relaxed, and flat ironed hair. This process has always been exhausting because I literally spend three hours standing with my arms raised. Normally, I would get up early and do the whole process the same day as the cut, but I don't have the stamina anymore. So, I relaxed and round brush blow dried on Thursday evening and when I woke up on Friday, I flat ironed it all.

The next step was actually getting to the appointment. I was determined to have a little normalcy and insisted on taking the bus there (versus a cab). The nearest stop is about 5 blocks away, but with my stamina and speed on the crutches, I allowed myself 30 minutes to get to the stop. It took me 20 and I was spent. But the good thing is that I only had to take one bus and I exited a half block from the shop.

The cut went smoothly. No, it was fantastic. At the beginning of the appointment I showed her how I planned to wear my hair for the wedding so she would understand the cut. Usually she just cuts it and sends me on my way, but this time she also curled it the way I want for the wedding, FOR FREE. She said that she wanted to see how it would look and it was so pretty. I actually teared up. She could tell her pleased I was and decided that she wanted to be the one to curl my hair for the wedding, even though Sunday is her day off! And on top of that, she's only gonna charge me half to do it! {insert happy dance} If you're local and looking for a place to get your hair cut, please check out Johnetta at First Encounters on MLK. She's also been doing Nilaja's hair for years. She's a fantastic stylist and even better person. Tell her I sent you. (I hesitate to post pictures because it's my wedding hair and I want it to be a surprise.)

When I was done, Nilaja picked me up and we picked up the tub transfer bench that was donated to me by a wonderful woman named Mira. She's had it in her backyard for a while, so it needs to be washed, but it's the one I wanted and seems to be in good condition. I'm so excited to have it.

After that we came home, at lunch, then went out on the patio to sunbathe. Nilaja and I have been trying to even out our tans before the wedding by getting a little sun each day. I don't know if it's working, but we're gonna keep trying for the next week. While we were outside, I finally got all the arrangements for the wheelchair worked out. I contacted a company called Grandmar Inc and although they typically rent their chairs for a month, he's agreed to do a weekly rental for me. So, just in case other things come up, I'll have a wheelchair for my family's entire visit. And the best part is they deliver and pick up for a pretty low fee. Sweet!

The rest of the evening was spent with me intermittently staring into space and helping Nilaja with her college statistics homework. I have to say, that it's incredibly difficult stuff. I used to think I was good at math, but when asked if I understood some of the concepts, all I could her was a blank stare. But I have to give it to her, she didn't give up on it and I think she finished it all.

Before I close this post and go have some Cheerios, I have to tell you a secret: I want to sing professionally. OK OK, I know that's not a secret to some of you, but I'm serious about this. A few days ago I caught a Jill Scott concert on Vh1 Soul and it has me inspired. It happens to be on right now and it's putting me in such a happy mood. I love music so much and believe that I might have a little talent. But how do I get started?