The truth is...

I feel like this post will be confessional. Consider yourself warned.

I haven't worn deodorant in quite a while. Like weeks, but not quite months, but maybe. Right before I ran out of my last stick (Tom's [of Maine] Fresh Apricot), I found a recipe to make my own, and I've been kind of into the whole "make my own" thing, so I got all of the ingredients - but I never made it. And I refused to buy more deodorant because I had all of the stuff to make some. After a few days, I was like, hmm, I'm not smelly anyway. I took some precautionary measures and used Jake's (I'm confessing this to him right now) if I knew I was going to be around a lot of people. A few days ago, I'd been out and about and it was hot, and toward the end of the day, I did a sniff sniff, and was a little disappointed, but really, it was one day out of 45-ish. I feel like I have those same odds when wearing deodorant. My armpits aren't really very sweaty....anymore. Are you ready for a story?

It was seventh grade, I was in Home Ec sitting next to my friend Tressa (her name is fun to type) in the sewing room where we were learning to sew some pajama bottoms. I turned around to talk to a girl behind me, and for one reason or another, I raised my arm, and her and her friend started laughing. I didn't know why. It turns out I had a sweat spot on my shirt under my arm. Big deal, right? YES! Huge deal. I was a girl with sweaty armpits, and that was the first day I learned it was just not socially acceptable. I developed a special way of raising my hand in class. I only bought light colored or black shirts, never gray. 

While they were almost always sweaty, they were never smelly. Smelly seems like it would be way over half the battle. Anyway, I lived like this all through junior high and high school. Girls with sweaty armpits have a sort of club. We all know who we are. Senior year, one of my friends and fellow club mates told me about Certain Dri. It changed her world, but I was hesitant to waste money on something that wouldn't work for me. It wasn't until after graduation. I was going to Oklahoma for the first time to see Jake after we met. I was going to meet his family, blah blah blah. I had to get serious. I walked into Walgreen's with a ten dollar bill and out with Certain Dri and some change. About a week later, there was no sweat. I think I used it for a month or two, just in case, but nothing. It was a miracle. I wish I would have known about it in seventh grade. Really, sweaty armpits AND acne. The acne lasted through eighth grade and is another story entirely.  

Will I start wearing deodorant again? Probably. While I don't mind moving my arms and not smelling anything, I really like smelling something that smells good, like fresh apricot or crisp nectarine and white ginger (a Dove scent - but I'm trying to steer clear of aluminum).
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I had a majorly major migraine yesterday evening. I've been a little sick. I think it's another sinus infection, which would make it my fourth in the last six months. I didn't get sick for a year, and then BAM! If I get the slightest bit of excess mucus (this started out as a minor cold), everything goes crazy. I keep hearing my pediatrician's voice in my head. She was this teeny little woman from China with the biggest smile ever. One day, when my mom took me to see her for what ended up being a sinus infection, she said (in a very cute accent), "You have small nasal passages that interfere with drainage, and they may require surgery some day."

We'd put the girls to bed, and my migraine is a ragin', and my face is aching, and I'd already taken the max dose of medicine for both things. I was desperate. It was still light out, and the sidewalk leading up to Dot was calling my name. I grabbed some bug spray and went out and laid down on the warm walkway, and it was wonderful. Everything still hurt, but I didn't care about it so much. There were hundreds of birds flying over my head. That made me a little anxious, but it was so great to watch them float off to wherever it was they were going. They would come in waves. Most flew around the same height, but some were up so high, they were just a little black speck. I'd close my eyes for a while and get lost in thought, then open them and see the travelers above me. I wondered how many had flown over when I wasn't looking. I stayed out until stars began showing up in the sky. The moon was so bright. Just as the first star appeared, the light across the street turned on, and I decided that one evening, when the weather is nice, I'd like a freak power outage so that light wouldn't come on and interrupt my star gazing. I'm looking forward to more warm sidewalk sessions.  
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I can't wait for Red, White, and BOOM! It's a free concert that the OKC Philharmonic puts on to celebrate Independence Day. It was really fun last year, even though it took us over an hour to get out of our parking spot. The concert was in the parking lot of the Coca Cola Center in Bricktown. We were so brilliant and parked a few blocks away on 1st near the Wedge. People usually only park on one side of the street, and there were hardly any cars when we got there, but when we were walking back, there were cars everywhere, and when we got to 1st, they were on both sides of the street. It had become a one-way, and we were facing the opposite way of the traffic leaving. Oh, and it was raining - which makes it even more dramatic. It's at State Fair Park this year, so hopefully the parking issues won't be a big deal. One bummer, I'll be going at it alone with my girls. The concert is on the third (TOMORROW!), so Jake will be at work. Oh well, my excitement cannot be squelched. I LOVE fireworks. The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday. I have a lot of family in Eagar, AZ, and they have one of the best Fourth of July celebrations, complete with a fun parade that I frequently attended when I was younger. I always have such fond memories of childhood and being with my family on this holiday.

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