My Mom!

So, I get a call from my mom on Sunday and she casually tells me that she is going to be teaching Introduction to Women's Studies at Indiana University in Ft. Wayne.

I am so freakin' happy for her I almost cried. I don't know if she knows this or not but teaching at the University level has been a dream of mine for many years, and here my mom is realizing that dream.

One of the reasons I've been so bummed out lately is because I've seen my mom work her ass off to raise three kids, work full-time and go to school part-time.

When she graduated with her Master's degree in 1999 I was soooo proud of her and hoped good things were in store for her. But unfortunatly a couple years of HELL were in store for her when she got hired to work for the city of Ft. Wayne investigating allegations of discrimination in employment and housing. She had some co-workers there who treated her like crap and she suffered much from their bullshit. My mom is a very humble person and did not in anyway deserve the bullshit these people put her through. I guess they thought a white woman who had been hired by an openly gay woman couldn't possibly be right for the job. Eventually the stress got to be too much and my mom quit this job and took a part-time job as a secretary at the University.

A secretary was what she was BEFORE she embarked on her long journey to obtain a higher education, and then here she was again, after years of struggle, a secretary.

Knowing this was happening in my mom's life made it difficult for me to stay motivated to complete my studies. Why should I when I witnessed my mom work so hard only to find herself back at square one? This scared me to death actually.

Well now it's all paying off! My mom teaching at the university! Yeah baby, sometimes dreams do come true. I am so freakin' proud of her I could die!

I Feel Like I'm in a Bad Science Fiction Movie!

A strange thing happened to me on Sunday. I was watering some plants in my yard and some guy walks up to me and asks if I could give him a ride to the pharmacy...

I hestitated for a bit, but finally said okay. I guess I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt hoping that if I'm ever in their shoes and need help some one will help me some day.

We got in my car and I quickly discovered that this guy reeked of urine pretty badly. I speedily drove him to where he needed to go. As soon as he got out of my car I grabbed my little travel size bottle of Febreeze and sprayed the hell out of that seat.

Later, in my house I kept getting a faint whiff of urine. I took a heavy duty shower and loofahed myself vigoriously with TWO different kinds of soap. Some friends came over and we took their dogs to the park and swam a bit. Every so often I'd smell it again---urine--fleeting yet undeniable urine whiffs. It seemed like it was coming from me. I told my friends and they insisted that they couldn't smell anything.

It's still happening, but with slightly less frequency. Still though...that's kind-of creepy.