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Ice cream, yoga and lipstick

Sep 11 02:40

Super melty rocky road, Spinal Twists and MAC lipstick in “Frecklespeck” - these are my go-to simple pleasures. I think everyone should have three simple things in their arsenal that can turn a crappy day, full of wheelchair horror story after horror story, into a day where you don’t feel like crawling into a hole to die. And they must be cheap. Your account balance shouldn’t have the final say on your happiness.

Whether you go for a cold Budweiser while watching the game to a hot slice of pizza from your favorite pizza place, if you know what your “cure-all” is, you’re in possession of some of the best stress armor out there. I first discovered rocky road was more than just ice-cream, but calcium-laced magical goodness with what must be some kind of natural Prozac in it, when I was a massively hungry pre-adolescent with free dibs on a tub of Edy‘s one day. Holy amazing ice-cream - the almonds, marshmallows and chocolate ice-cream. I was done in for.

After I ended up in a wheelchair, the magical rocky road came to the rescue once again, helping out whenever tipping-point drama occurred, from painful bouts of UTI‘s, PCAs not showing up to wheelchair break-downs at the worst time possible. It was the cap on the bubbling volcano so to speak, and it is till this day. Same goes for yoga. Yes, a workout thing.

Since beginning adapted yoga a couple years ago, there’s been one pose my crooked back can’t get enough of. Its called a Spinal Twist and I can do it in my wheelchair anytime, anywhere. Its like a breath of fresh air to my spinal column. With one twist, I can feel hours of tension suddenly lifted and I daresay its become one of my most physical pleasures of daily life. This link shows what the pose looks like. This pose can erase loads of stress in one simple stretch.

I can’t forget the power of the pretty. Old ladies know what’s up when it comes to the magic of putting on a little lipstick. A quick dab and a look in the mirror and kapow - suddenly the world seems brighter.

From here on out, I expect my three simple pleasures to be more and more in demand. I know aging is inevitable, disability complications are inevitable, but as long as I have my magic goodies by my side, watch out world, this girl can deal with anything.

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By Tiffiny Carlson

Tiffiny Carlson Disability buzz, travel, fashion and dating — fun things to amp up everyday wheeling life.

Tiffiny Carlson is freelance writer and writes the “SCI Life” column for New Mobility. She's also a C6 quad from a diving accident that occurred when she was 14 years old. A lifelong resident of Minneapolis, Tiffiny has been a writer in the disability community for over 10 years and writes for several publications and blogs, as well as her personal blog BeautyAbility. Her work has also appeared in mainstream publications such as Nerve.com and Playgirl.