How were we in past Septembers?  
Click below
2023. 2022.

Entry#306. 9/29/2024. 
Reflection of AFM. Part2: Title: I don't like complications. (This is a story after Part1. Look at entry#304.)  
At one point, I thought I was more excited than nervous about my husband's handcycle marathon race “this time”. My mind always has two things for any handcycle races/events; good health condition and good mechanical condition. Both are things that I cannot control, though.  
But I try to make sure that nothing is wrong.   
However my mind got full of thoughts with nervousness beforehand. I go back to 10 days before the race.  
I was comfortable with his machine (handcycle) about 14 days before the race because we washed chains, adjusted the derailleur (which is always very complicated to me) and adjusted the brake system. I was pleased that it looked all set for the race. Then here.   
10 days before the race  
My husband got a bit off feeling about the left rear tire of his racer-handcycle. We asked for help from the local bike shop. They replaced the bearings. (We didn't expect that though.)  It was supposed to be all clear so I said to myself repeatedly "It should be fine. It should be fine."  
6 days before the race
We were about to pedal a long distance as the last part of my husband's training plan. I pumped as usual. However the left rear tire started leaking inner sealant just right before pedaling. As I wrote before, these rear tires are TUBELESS tires with sealant in them. I learned how to take care of it. But I am not so 100% comfortable about replacing it by myself yet. I tried my best to set up a new tire at home at midnight. However it didn't work at all no matter how hard I tried. I was disappointed in myself. I was sad and nervous the most because there was ONLY 6 days until the race. My mind said to me "what if it's not fixable? what if his machine wouldn't be ready?" I couldn't sleep well. I was a total mess.  
I was rushing into the local bike shop for help. The actual problem was an inner tape which was too old and couldn't hold air right. I had no idea about it. Thanks to their great help and knowledge, it was fixed and looked ready for sure. I was relieved. My whole body ached already because of the strong effort for pumping a tubeless tire at that time.    
The day before the race
I was grateful that we drove up to Dayton the day before the race day. My husband's marathon training was completed with a bit of a twist. We pedaled a lot, did hill-works enough, and long-runs as well. I was sure he was ready. I was happy to be in Dayton. We were pleased to be BACK again from last year's race.   However our feelings got so down at the hotel at check in time. Just because we made a reservation later, the accessible room was not available unfortunately. We asked the hotel again about it anyway, with a tiny hope. We were out of luck sadly. I just hoped the sink with a clearance underneath in the bathroom, at least. So that my husband can use the sink to wash hands, face and teeth. We found out it was NOT when we entered our hotel room. I was so disappointed and felt so sad. But that was the one we got anyway. I forgot to take a photo of it. We just had to manage it for one night and be ready for the race. That was it.  
Our sleep was so light and my husband didn't get a great rest. But he was brave enough to be ready for the marathon handcycle race. I was happy and proud to be there to witness his great effort.  
I never get used to the process with complications (several problems, both technical and mental). I guess it would never be easy and that would be the way we do forever, maybe. I would still feel grateful and thankful for his challenge especially handcycle races. Every time he starts the race, I hope his pedaling is smooth without crashes, panctures, and injuries. Every time he crosses the finish line, my eyes get wet with huge joy and happiness. I hope he can continue racing with his handcycle as much as he wants for a long time. 
The Air Force Marathon handcycle race 2024 was a great joy indeed. He did a great race with other wonderful handcyclists. We made a great memory again. You know? We already started talking about next season. You might roll your eyes. Fun. 

9/28/2024.  
I do hope people's safety in the area Hurricane Helene hit last night.  
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwylvy7enrgo.amp
Our house was okay thankfully. However that strong wind made huge mess in my yard and driveway. Lots of lots of leaves and branches. I need to clean up once rain stops and I need to shred leaves in yards once leaves dry up. 

Entry#305. 9/28/2024.   
I attended the event "Meet the author" at the local library. It was my first experience at the local library to meet the book author. I had several chances before, at the Middle school and my husband's biology department. This time was special to me because the author is an Oxford resident, Miami University professor and a mother of a 6th grade girl. 

https://www.amazon.com/Measure-Intelligence-Mothers-Reckoning-Test/dp/1635769353

A Measure of Intelligence by Pepper Stetler 

I never joined any Book Club before. I know most mothers-friends do it and they love their Book Club. I never go because I always feel timid about it. I am afraid that I cannot discuss it in the right ways. You might say "You will be just fine." However you would know right away if you have me in your Book Club.  
I purchased this book as a pre-sale before it's published. Once it was delivered here, I devoured this book trying to consume whole ideas/meanings. It is hard for me sometimes at some parts which are too complicated to me. But I tried and finished. I loved it even though I might not understand difficult parts. At least I am impressed this wonderful lady-author's bravery and honesty.  
At the event, several familiar faces were there. They made me smile huge. I got more and more excited. And a Middle school 6th grade Social Study teacher who has two young boys sit next to me. We have known each other since I used to be an EA at the Middle school library. We had a nice conversation before the author started talking.  
Toward her end of speech, I remembered the last part of the book. Her daughter's 6th grade Social Study teacher made an appearance in the story. She is the KEY person about the nice meaningful closing of the book.  
Then it HIT me strongly, sending a shock wave. "This teacher is THE LADY sitting next to me right now!!!"  Why didn't I notice it right away?  I should have known. I am bad.  
I got goosebumps and my heart pounded hard. My joy reached up high. You should know how pleased I was and did a happy dance.    
Guess what I did next?  Yes, of course I was in the line to get the autograph from the author. After that, I asked the Social Study teacher to give me her autograph in the space next to the author's sign in the book. She generously accepted it.  
Now I have TWO autographs together in my book that make the book so special. I am proud of having the book. I can brag about this special book.  
I can show you these two autographs next time you see me. Ask me about it.  
I was hesitant to take a photo with the author. But I was able to take a shot with a wonderful librarian at the Lane public library, making a nice memory at the event. I got such cheerful energy from people there. How much I love connecting with people, community and their love. They should know how happy I was because of them on that night. They should know. 

P.S. I still have a special bond with LPL librarians since I used to be a Shelver/Page there. 

9/26/2024.  
When I was a middle/high school librarian (EA), I could connect students through school library. I was able to follow young students' sport life and more. Now I can still see some of them on articles. When I find someone who I know in an article, it makes me smile a lot. This time, I found a wonderful man who used to run High school Cross country. He was thoughtful and hardworking boy, and seems he still is. I want to tell him "Thank you for giving me an extra energy!"  
https://stories.miamioh.edu/miami-summer-internships

9/25/2024.  
My Christmas cactus update:  Red one started blooming, too. Pink one entertains pretty well. How about yours? 

Entry#304. Reflection of AFM handcycle race 2024! Full marathon 26.2 mile (42.195 km). 
My husband competed the handcycle Full marathon race at the Air Force Marathon event in Dayton, OH on 9/21/2024. It was his 2nd time attending a full marathon. 26.2 mile. 42.195km. The 2nd time is always more comfortable than the first time to me personally. So I had been feeling excited more than nervous.  
Part1:  On Race day.   
His morning routine started around 3:30am. We started driving from a hotel at 5:15am. Arrived at the handicap parking at 5:40am. It was still dark. 10K runners were everywhere to be ready for starting at 6:30am. Marathon race starting time was at 7:30am. Handcycle/Rim-pusher athletes had a 5 minutes staggered start at 7:25am.  He got on his handcycle at 6:45am then pedaled to the starting line. Bicycle escort people were leading him because he needed to dodge many marathon runners on the way.
I was more excited than he was, maybe. Every time I saw other handcycle athletes, my voice tone rose, shouting “Look! Look! There they are!” It is quite a view looking at all wheeled athletes together.   
Last year, my husband didn't know about most of handcyclists. He knew only one lady from the Bridge program in Cincinnati. This year was totally different because he knew most of them from last year's experience. (9 returners from last year's race out of 14 handcyclists)  Plus he invited two of his friends. So I bet his mind was full of excitement and determination of "I gotta hustle. Let's do this!!" I know he set his goal time. I thought hard "Please NO flat tire. No crash. No flip over. No injury." I sound funny.  
It is supposed to be a fast, quick race compared to Running race. However there is a difficult part on the course that handcyclists have to dodge many Half-marathoners because of the course system. (Some of them have to dodge Full-marathoners as well.)  I cannot imagine how tight or how much danger to both sides (handcyclists and runners). They just try to do their best as much as they can with some generosity and patience. If you could witness their actual RUN on the road, you would be surprised and impressed, I am sure. I found the video!!! Here, you can watch and feel it through this video.This video is from last year's race. 

During the race, I tracked their "run" using an app. I was grateful for the warm temperature and sunshine. I didn't need to worry about his finger's numbness at all. It was way too freezing cold last year.  
My husband came back to the finish line at the time around 1 hour 30 minutes which was exactly his calicuration. My heart was pounding hard. He was aiming to beat 1 hour and 30 minutes. His time was 1 hour 36 minutes 53 seconds last year 2023. It was super exciting! It was so close. It was just great! He crossed the finish line with all his strength. Great last push indeed! Hurray!  
His time this year was 1 hour 30 minutes 56 seconds!!!  PR! He got third place. I was happy. He was happy. It was so much fun. We both were so satisfied. I am so proud of him.  
After handcyclists crossed the finish line, they went back to their car at the parking lot to exchange from handcycles to their own wheelchairs. That's their way. And "the after-party" began. We wanted to chat with other handcyclists as much as possible. This is the only time we can chat, introduce ourselves and exchange some info. And it is our favorite time indeed!  
This time, my husband played an important role besides a race, introducing his two friends to other veteran-handcyclists. It worked pretty well. He did a great part. I was pleased about it. He made a bridge between them.  
You might wonder now about next year? Yes, I am sure that he will compete again at the Air Force Marathon 2025, aiming to get his PR again. Because he already mentioned something to me "I need more hill-work."  See? I love observing the whole process of it. Congratulations to my husband and all other handcyclists (plus Rim-pushers)!  Woooo hoooo!  
Aaaand there is Part2 coming up. (There is always a "however" section, you can guess.)

9/24/2024.  
Happy 52nd anniversary (!) to my parents in Japan. 

We exchanged texts. I asked my mom "Why don't you dress up and go out to fancy dinner to celebrate?"  She answered "It's getting a bit harder to do that because of aging. But we live one day at a time, we cherish each day together. That's the way for us." And I nodded deeply. I feel bad that I cannot stop by their house right away casually.... Thinking of them.

9/21/2024.  
HE DID IT!!! He got PR. The 3rd place! It was so much FUN to witness a whole process. I love it so much. I'll write more later.   
The last photo here: The 1, 2, 3 finishers!! 

Entry#303. 9/19/2024.  
Do you know about Herbarium??  
Did you know Miami University had very nice one? 

https://miamioh.edu/cas/centers-institutes/herbarium/index.html

Have you visited there before?  Oh you should if you’ve not.  
Since my husband loves insects (any insects), I’ve had seen insect cabinets (boxes) many times. But I haven’t visited this Herbarium yet. And I did this time with my husband’s lab crews. It was so much fun to discover something interesting to me. I would visit again definitely. I was all smiling in that room. 

I want to add an additional story. It’s about accessibility (you might be grinning??). I knew this building was an old one and the building shape was a little bit unique. We knew that we could enter the building. However we weren’t sure about the easiest way (the right way?) to the Herbarium.  
So we entered from the north side because that entrance was the one we knew. It has a wheelchair sign.  

We wheeled to the south wing. There was a ramp. We were almost there. Then we encountered “stairs”, no ramp. There is a sign (!)

It was okay. We know now the easiest way to the Herbarium. It was a kind of “funny” that we wheeled back to get the elevator. Now you know how to get there, don’t you?  
And I was just grateful that we managed to get there.  
The last photo:  The other side entrance. South side.

9/17/2024. 
I believe there are some “phrases” that makes you feel “Ahhh, I sound just like a native (foreign language) speaker. Feels nice and cool.” when you studied and spoke out in public with the language you learned. It might be very personal feeling, of course. Everyone feels in different ways. 
I don’t mean popular greetings at all. It’s more like casual saying that isn’t in any school textbook.
You might laugh.
I feel so being American when I use a phrase “Coming!!”. (You might wonder. For Japanese people, as English learners, we use “Going.” instead of “Coming.” wrongly, most of the time.). 
Or when I use a phrase “Who is this?” on the phone. (You can guess easily this one?  Maybe? Japanese try saying “Who are you?” at the first try on the phone.)   
My husband taught me about phrases “G’day mate!” and “How are we?” right after his Australia trip a long ago. Interesting and I love it. 
My good young (almost navy officer) friend said to me “Matane” (またね) right after her Japan trip (living). It made me smile a lot. 
Conversation about foreign languages is always so much fun, no matter what languages they are.
Do you have your favorite foreign language phrases?? Tell me about it next time you see me. 

9/17/2024.
Do you use a bike floor pump? I know about the pump from my childhood experience in Japan. Yes, I know how to use it and I can pump bike tires. No problem.
Then you know? I learned about tubeless tires for my husband’s handcycle rear wheels. I wrote about it before.
My new problem are “I need to master to use a Flash Can” and “I need to pump up to 160 psi!!”
Well, I am kind of confident about muscle works lately. However pumping up to 160 psi is really hard. Extremely hard.
Then imagine if you attempt this job 8 times in a row in your garage at night.
Your muscles hurt. Each body parts hurt. Exhausted. Dead tired.
I need to write about details “why I did this” later. Sometimes nothing goes right even you try your hardest work with 100% power.
Only if this wouldn’t be 6 days before my husband’s Air Force Marathon race day. (You know? I was freaking panicked.) 

Entry#302. 9/16/2024.  
There are things you don’t care much (you don’t need to care about) just because you are an able bodied person. Then once you begin to notice these things, you can spot them easily. It is very interesting to me nowadays.
When you visit coffee shops, you see several modern stylish table sets. Sometimes those are high tables and high chairs. They look so stylish and fancy. However, unfortunately, my husband doesn’t use those type of high tables.
You might imagine easily that lower height table blocks wheelchair users’ knees. They cannot use low height tables at all. Too high tables would be useless for wheelchair users.
Sometimes we just need to give up several places because of that. It’s okay. We watch and learn.   
My husband’s work place is in the newer renovated building. It has elevators and accessible family size restrooms which have a bit limited ways to access. But I cannot complain about it. At least it is accessible.   
Too heavy doors are a bit hard to handle for wheelchair users. But the setting laws are complicated.  
There are work benches in my husband’s lab. They are not low height, however, they are too high to use properly for him.  
Then recently it’s fixed!!  The maintenance guy adjusted the height of work bench lowered just as my husband’s request. I am grateful to know this happened. (Then now you see, he cannot reach any cabinet racks above the work bench. That might be another story.) 

9/15/2024. My Christmas cactus update:
Pink one started blooming. I gotta remember this happened in September.

9/14/2024. 
Thinking back my old days (especially high school and college years), I have several things I regret. Well, I wish I could have known about study abroad ideas. That’s what I’m feeling at age 50. I was a typical band/choir girl and just spending times with friends was what I did for high school time. I didn’t think ahead at all, I didn’t do job search at all. I just enjoyed a life at that time. 
I don't have a right to say “You’d better find a job soon.” to our son. I was that bad.  
Well, I learned a bit about Study Abroad system through Miami University. Several friends (friends’ children) experienced this great opportunities. I admire their courage, efforts and determination very much. There are some chances in high school as international exchange programs. For High schoolers!!! They are young (!).  
One of my old friend family has a ballerina daughter who is sophomore in high school in Japan. She determined to do Study abroad at Ballet school in Portugal! How cool is that. How brave she is. I admire her courage a lot. I will keep cheering for her.  
Photos: I tried mimicking “ballet poses” several times when I was next to her. Good old memories.

Entry#301. 9/14/2024.
I told our son some advices already about “finding/buying a house” stuff. He was laughing. I know it’s even not the time for him yet. Not at all. But I told him anyway.  Because I really wanted to have someone, anyone to tell me something about finding a house stuff when we bought a house for the first time.  If our parents lived in the States, of course, we had gotten tons of advice from them about being a house owner. But they all are in Japan.  
“Don’t buy a house with wallpaper! NO wallpaper.” This is the first one I told our son.  
Next. Well, what do you know about a length of exhaust vent (the length from Dryer machine to the outside)?  I didn’t even care about the floor of Washer and Dryer machines. Bad me.  
My washer and dryer are in the upstairs (second floor) which is generally not so convenient. And the vent hole is quite FAR from the machines.
And guess what? Guess the worst part??    
I didn’t know “I need to clean up exhaust vent at least once a year”. See? Bad bad bad me.  
Well, I do know now. So I will have specialists to come to our house once a year. Just because I cannot do vent cleaning by myself. It’s too high (because it’s second floor) and it’s too long.  
And every time, I feel terribly bad for workers. They will be covered with too much dust balls from their heads to toes, literally. You cannot imagine how bad it is.  
I am grateful and thankful for their help every year.  
I told our son “Buy a house with a dryer machine room downstairs (1st floor). The vent hole should be right behind the dryer! Must!”  
 
Ohhhh, and I should tell him “NO carpet”.  
You know? He has this one in his mind already, I’m pretty sure. “Accessible”.  
Photo: you see their hard work.

9/14/2024.  
I learned the term "taper" "tapering" recently. Funny. I was once an assistant for High school Cross Country coach. I should have known about tapering = reducing training time/pace. Well, I learned it from my husband, from his handcycle training. Good to know. Well, 7 more days until his AFM race! 

9/11/2024.    
I think my mother in Japan has a collection of “brooch pins”. I need to ask her again about them. Hopefully I can get a photo of them, so that I can show them here to people.  
I don’t have much of brooch pins. But I do have several of them. You must laugh. Because they are all insects. Yes, insects. Just because my husband is a biologist + insect lover.  
Recently he got gifts from his good researcher friend. And my eyes were wide open when I opened the gift boxes. I fell in love with them very much. Are you familiar with Japanese Stag beetles  and Rhino beetles?  Also are you familiar with their “life cycle”? Including larva and pupa?  
Why am I talking about them?  Because 

My husband got brooch pins of “Life cycle of Rhino beetle!” Do you see them, now?  
And I wore them at the biology picnic!!! That much I like them.  
And here, can you spot my brooch?? 

Here we go! ENTRY#300!!! 9/09/2024.
My husband’s accident was 7/16/2021.
I started writing my personal blog on 3/17/2022.
I keep writing with imperfect English grammar but with my deep honest feelings. Then TA-DA!  Today’s entry is my 300th.
You cannot search individual stories using a keyword in this blog. It is still an inconvenient format compared to professional blogs or V-logs.
Even so, I like the way that we can see our pasts whenever we want, to check again or compare them or just simply reflect.
My husband and I, our conversation amount/time drastically increased after our new normal life started. I think it’s good. I enjoy this change. Hope my husband does, too.
Handcycle time makes his body system work better and smoother. Also it works better mentally, just like most of people’s workouts. No handcycle days (because of bad weather or too much work) make his digestion, urinary system, and other stuff complicated, unfortunately.
Eventually we need to find an alternative way for indoor-days in the winter. (We set up an indoor-trainer prototype A last winter. It worked. But he needs the next-version prototype B.)
We keep trying to do a “better” version of everything. That’s the way for our lives.  
He is a biology professor. He gives lectures and talks to students/audiences from the “stage side” not audience side. He recognized at some points that there were accessible settings on “audience sides” in public (several places. Not 100% yet, but people try to care these days. That is what we feel.) It is for students and their parents at college campuses. For example, at the stadium, concert halls, buildings, classrooms. They are able to attend with those accessibility settings. 
However “stage sides” are not so accessible for disabled presenters/speakers/performers.  Not much happening yet. There are stairs to get on the stage. Stairs are barriers especially for wheelchair users.  I didn't even think about it and I have not noticed it at all for disabled-speakers. (Usually Universities' websites say "our collage is accessible". That made me feel better until we noticed the "stage side" issue.  This "realization" is good to us. It made my vision broaden. We, able-bodied people need to think about a portable ramp or some other devices just in case. An extra option is good for any occasion. 
We will keep learning more in future. I hope we could share this kind of realization with people in the communities somehow in future.
I visited my husband's lecture on day 1. There was a slide called "Who I am" as an introduction part. At the last bullet point, he added "avid handcyclist" with a photo of him riding on a handcycle. I smiled slowly and broadly. That moment made me feel so proud.
Yes, I would introduce myself as a cyclist now, as well. I would probably sound proud. I am proud of us pedaling together.
Sometimes I keep feeling exhausted from cycling. It is okay for age 50, I guess. Many laughs would be good medicine and I do have them with my husband. Funny. Do you?

Yay for my 300th writing!! 

Entry#299. 9/08/2024.  
Great news!!  Do you remember about my husband's very FIRST handcycle FULL marathon race in Dayton last year 2023?https://gomrstgo.webador.com/september-2023/handcycle-marathon-in-dayton

YES! He will compete again for this race "Air Force Marathon 2024" this month! Yes, that's why we have been pedaling as much as we could. It's for his full-marathon training. I think he loves the process of making training plans, sticking with the plans and performing his best on race day. If you remember his Flying Pig 10K races in Cincinnati in the past (May in Spring), you might wonder whether there is a difference between these 2 kinds of races. I, personally, love AFM (Air Force Marathon) more. The distance, whole atmosphere, participants' numbers and the course itself. (Funny, though. I, actually, haven't seen the whole road course. No. I do know part of it, because we attended the Individual Time Trial race. It was part of a Full Marathon course! Neat?) You need to ask my husband directly how he feels about the differences.  I am excited for him. (YES!! SUPER!)  On the other hand, I will get nervous for sure about the preparation the day before and the race day. I never get used to it, but I think it's okay to be nervous to make sure everything is set right both his machine and his "body system".  Once again, we need to get up at 4:00am for his morning routine at the hotel we stay in the day before. It's a bit special for him this time because he will meet his own NEW paraplegic friends (TWO of them) on the race day to compete together. You might be surprised. One of them will come from Maryland(!). He was the one who invited my husband to handcycle at GOBA.    
See Entry#274.https://gomrstgo.webador.com/june-2024

Our new connection made him want to handcycle again with my husband. What an enthusiasm he has!! The other one is our very local paraplegic friend in Hamilton. Remember? My husband gave him a handcycle info in the Marketplace. He got into the handcycle world because of my husband, I guess. Then he registered for AFM. Exciting.   
Also we have been hoping for a year since the moment my husband crossed the finish line at AFM that we could meet most of handcyclists AGAIN this year. We never know whether they come back again or not. But we hoped. For now, we expect to see 8(!) handcyclists from last year’s marathon. This is super exciting! My eyes keep wide open. My husband’s adrenaline level will be up high for sure. 

9/08/2024.  
Our son sent us a photo from Helena, Montana. It was his lunch today. It said "Tower Sandwich!"  What is Tower Sandwich??!  Is it famous in Montana?  How to eat it? How do you make it?  My brain has many questions about this interesting food. So just like usual, I did Google about it. Then Ta-da!! Found it.   
https://www.ktvh.com/news/staggering-ox-a-montana-original-40-years-in-the-making
It is Helena Original indeed! Can you believe it? Photo below is from him.

I'm still looking for the info of "how to make it". I definitely want to try to taste it. 

It says "Montana original 40 years in the making". 40 years!!! I'm impressed.  
It sounds like our own shop "Bagel and Deli" in Oxford. Pssss, did you know? They will have 50th anniversary next year!!!
https://www.bagelanddeli.com/  
So special and so delicious. 

9/06/2024.  
My wonderful baker-friend started selling her sweets at MOON COOP in town today! I gotta stop by and get some. 

And here is August "cycling" calendar. See? I think we pedaled A LOT in August. 

Aaaand my Christmas cactus (should I type "cacti"??) UPDATE!  We need to guess which month they would bloom??!

Entry#298. 9/06/2024.
Sometimes I wonder how many people understand "self catheterization"? I am talking about paraplegic people and their urinary system.  I knew the word "catheter" in Japanese (from college study) but I hadn't seen the actual item itself in my life.  I didn't even have any interest in how to use it. Basically I just thought medical people (doctors, nurses and hospital recipients) were familiar with it. I simply thought so.  
When my husband stayed in ICU and then moved to Inpatient rehab hospital, I watched and learned a lot from many nurses and doctors. Of course, each nurse is different and their care styles are different bit by bit. In the ICU, because my husband was under induced-coma, nurses took turns to take care of taking urine using a catheter. That was my first lesson about it. From that beginning, my husband's life has been depending on catheters 100%.
He cannot live without them at all. Can you imagine? It sounds very scary to me.  
In the rehab hospital, I understood that there were not many SCI patients. Even so, I thought most of the staff understood SCI conditions. Do you think that way? One time, my husband needed to use a catheter. But there was none in his room. So I had to walk up to the nurse station counter to ask someone about a catheter. I really needed to GET it right away. It might sound funny. But I told the staff lady "My husband needs to pee." Because I thought it was a quick way to tell her "give me a catheter". However, guess what happened next?  She said "Ummm, okay. He can use the bathroom in his room, right?"  Noooooo. I thought all the staff knew his SCI condition, but I was wrong. That was my bitter/disappointed memory there.  
I had a time when I encountered the word "dialysis". I knew the word itself but I had no idea about the details whenI heard my friend had to do self dialysis at home for a long time. I cannot imagine exactly how to do it.
So it is kind of natural that most people don't know these things in their lives. It is normal.  
I learned about catheters and self-catheterization for paraplegic people after my husband's injury. This is critical stuff and these are his lifelong necessary items.
It is a little bit personal stuff and peeing stuff. Most of the time, I am hesitant to say it. To me as an English learner, I don't know whether it is okay to use the word "pee" in public. I still don't know. I know it’s safe to say “May I use a bathroom?” “I need to go to the bathroom.”
Here is an article about self-catheterization for SCI.
https://www.180medical.com/blog/best-catheters-for-spinal-cord-injury/

My husband needs to take out his urine from his body by himself, about 8 times per day. That means he needs 8 catheters everyday, all year long, for his rest of his life.  
When he travels, he needs to carry 8 x travel days of catheters plus extras. No matter how he travels, by a car, airplane or ship.  
I sometimes feel scared imagining “what if he doesn’t have a catheter with him?”  Scary.  
When we need to evacuate, when we get stuck somewhere, when we go away from home, I just need to make sure that we have enough catheters with us.  
This is why sometimes traveling makes our plans complicated. So each travels we made in the past are meaningful to me. Future travels would be the same.  
photo: In Atlanta Summer 2024.

9/05/2024.  
Have you seen “Rubber Ducks in Jeep”?? Is it very popular in the world? So my husband said. I was not familiar with Jeep and especially the combination of “Jeep x Rubber duck”.  So like us usual, I googled.

https://www.motortrend.com/features/duck-duck-jeep/

Then if you know my husband, you could guess easily what’s next. He wanted to “compete” with his style. Then he put these in our van.  
How do you like them?  
Wait, can you tell me "how much popular" about this??

Entry#297. 9/05/2024.  
My husband and I have been enjoying pretty much watching Paralympic handcycling races (we’ve been watched cycling races since Tour de France in July.) There are many eye opening moments in those races. It’s so inspiring and I love it very much.
I do admire any athletes (para or regular), I do admire any sports (handcycling or others). But my eyes always are caught by handcycle (especially paraplegic athletes).  As you know already, there are many types of disabilities, many types of sports for them and many types of categories (group settings). Basically in Paralympic Games, similar types of disability athletes compete which would be fair for everyone.
I am wondering. It might be a bit different point of view than able bodied people because I know how my husband lives with SCI now. You might laugh.
I told my husband “They traveled a long way to Paris with their disabilities. That’d be hard, I imagine. But all the para athletes managed it, that’s awesome.”  Do you think about it? Maybe not. I do a lot. And I do admire them more.
Speaking of handcycling. Oh of course, they travel carrying their handcycles on the airplane, yes, they do. Do you imagine? It’s “wow” level to think about it. (And we cannot forget about their own wheelchairs, they need to carry them along with them no matter what.)
Anyway this Olympic/Paralympic year 2024 has been wonderful to us.  
Okay, here is a quick question for you, my friends. (I always want to see how everyone reacts for this question.)
Imagine handcycling just like my husband does. Do you pretend and mimic your arms movement to pedal (go forward) handcycle? How do you move your arms?
Show me how you move your arms? 

Most of the time, most of my friends move their arms (right arm and left arm) in alternative shifts, JUST LIKE bicycle pedaling(!) How about you? Did you do it? 

Handcycles are designed so that hand cranks move together, instead of alternating like pedals on a traditional bike. How do you think about that?? Interesting? 
Now, you know it, if I ask you again the same question, how would you move??! 

9/03/2024.  
Sometimes I want shout out to the world to announce the great news. Do you have that moment? I wrote about her begore several times in my blog. She is my best friend (mentor, gardener, artist, Hunter, baker and more) from my old time in Manhattan, KS (2001-2008). She is in several articles.  
https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news-and-publications/news/stories/2024/01/kansas-profile-barn-quilts.html
  
https://www.olsburgks.com/barn-quilts.cfm
She shared her latest project at her house with me. I want to show these to you. 
I really want to see these with my own eyes, but I cannot go visit right away. I do hope I can visit her again someday. I love her arts very much. 

9/02/2024.  
My husband and I biked/handcycled to Troy. We found floating tents (!) near the city area. Yes, they were floating on the Great Miami river. I shouted at my husband "How do you use that tent??"

It was our long ride day, 34 mile total. On the way back to the parking lot, I kept thinking about that tents. So we googled it at home. Found a website. 
https://www.float-troy.com/
Did you know this?? Wow, Troy seems very interesting.