Madison Sanders Writes

My dad's old girlfriend was visiting one day with the kids. It was kind of like a get to know you day. We had just finished lunch, so my brother and I headed outside to play. B's oldest daughter wanted to help me fix my hair. Girls try to look their best you know. My brother and I got on the golf cart while L took the four wheeler. We had two driveways, so it made the perfect circle for a race track. Lap one L was in the lead. Not to be outdone, my brother and I inched our way up to the front. I saw a chance to pass so I did. My brother looked back and saw L coming too close for comfort. "Make the dust get in her eyes!" my brother yelled. "Yes!" I thought. Our plan worked. L couldn't see where she was going. I floored the gas...a little too soon. Our victory of success was short lived because I had forgotten that the other driveway curved around the rosebush. I saw it when it was too late: I was headed straight for the side of the house! Oh no. What am I

I've never had the titles of my posts show up on people's sidebars or G0ogle Readers. I always wondered why because it bugged me that I couldn't fix it. I've always put the title in the post and bolded it so it would stand out. Clever, huh? I've finally figured out the problem (thanks to some searching on the Blogger help forum): The title wasn't enabled to show up. I have no clue how it got changed because I have another blog for a class that has always had a space for the title. Since I was frustrated, I wanted to make sure that none of you ever go through that. If you do, you can always bookmark this post in case you forget what to do. To make the titles of your posts show up, click on Settings, Formatting, and then scroll down until you see Show Title Field. Make sure Yes is selected. P.S Since my title now shows, I have the option of changing the size of it to smaller or larger. I want to get your opinion on which one you like best since you are the ones r

I haven't updated on my health because I haven't thought it was necessary. I also don't want this blog to be all about pain. I just had another visit to the pain clinic on Tuesday. They have done all that they know to do basically. I'm also reaching the age that I need to be at an adult pain clinic. I'm not sad about this at all because everyone involved agrees that we need at fresh perspective on my situation. It's also good to take an active role in your recovery and not be passive. Things have been at a standstill for awhile, but everything has a way of working out. These new doctors could know just the thing to help me, so change can be good. I've been having trouble with my IT (also known as iliotibial ) band, but I'm still going to school. My goal is to add another class to my schedule for this spring. If I'm not able to, it won't be the end of the world. Mama keeps reminding me that it's ok if it takes me five years to finish school.

When you have a disability, you find new ways of doing normal everyday things. I was in a leadership program at my church and we had all reached our goal, so we celebrated. We went bowling. While most people are contemplating what food they're going to order, I was thinking about how I was going to be able to bowl with everyone else and not make a fool of myself. Davey bowled...Shenea bowled...then it was my turn. I put my fingers into the black ball and got into position. That ball was heavy! Miss K showed me where to put my feet for balance. 1, 2, and 3. I let go of the ball hoping for the best. It landed straight in the gutter. All of my friends said it was OK. I shrugged off the incident and sat down to wait my turn. One of my teachers was up next. I can't remember what she bowled but anything more than 10 was good in my book. At least she had something up on the board. It was my turn again. Wanting to help me, Miss K was trying to think of a way that I could bowl with eve

It's official. Fall is in the air. I decided it would be fun to put together a collection of some fabulous fall finds that I would love to own. Not that I need anything, I just love to put together outfits in my mind. Cardigans. They go with everything and can add a fun pop of color to any outfit while keeping you warm. I might do a video post of my favorite fall items that I already own. I'll show you how you can mix and match things for a completely different look. No longer available. (It comes in red too). Like this one (no longer available). It's a little more dressy, but I liked it because it had a unique detail on the front and an interesting color. It's ok to change it up for fall. You'll be able to wear this again and again. Jewelry . I like to have a few fun pieces mixed with things that can be worn with other things. This multi colored bracelet from Target fits the bill perfectly. This bracelet set is classic enough that it can be wo

I've already written about my oldest cousin's and my love of the Backstreet Boys from years gone by. This carried over into other areas of our lives as well. When we were bored, we would go into my Memaw's guest bedroom and play. The door was shut not only to give us some privacy, but also to let our imaginations run wild without fearing anyone else had seen (or heard) our stupidity. "Today we are going to call the Backstreet Boys," I said. " Ooh , how about Nick" my cousin said. "Yes, definitely Nick, I screamed, unable to contain my excitement at the mere thought of him. He's the cutest." As you can tell we had our priorities straight. Cuteness first. Everyone else later. My grandmother knew we played this game quite often so she was kind enough to let us use her dusty blue phone just for this purpose. It was one of those phones that you put your finger in the whole of the number you wanted to dial and turn it completely around, then

DISCLAIMER: This post is in no way degrading people who love to wear makeup. I just don't like how society dictates what they think looks good or bad in terms of appearances. These statements are based on my observations and opinions. As my mom was dropping me off at college last week, she saw a black girl with shorts on. "Is she wearing pantyhose?" she said in disbelief. "I don't think so Mama," I sighed. When we parked the car, Mama was able to get a better look at her. No, she wasn't wearing pantyhose. She said, "It's hard to know what's real and what's not in today's society." I nodded my head in agreement. Everyone is looking for something real amidst women with fake boobs and fake tans. I have a friend in one of my classes that used to wear tons of makeup. She looked pretty, but she looked like she was entering a beauty pageant. She would get up at 6:30 AM each morning so that she had plenty of time to do her hair and make

{Click to enlarge} This was my gift to my grandparents for their 50 th wedding anniversary. My aunt had asked me would I do it a year in advance (I guess she wanted to make sure my social calender wasn't packed :) ), and I was more than happy to oblige. They were both speechless after I read it. That's saying something because those who know my Papa and Granny know they are never speechless. Granny was finally able to tell me how much it meant to them today. I think they were so shocked they didn't have time to process everything. She said it was something they would treasure for the rest of their lives. I'm so glad. All a writer can ever hope for is that their work will be appreciated by others. I said I would share it so here it is. I'm also posting it so my family will be able to look back on this time with fond memories even if their memory fails them.

The day was hot with a hint of breeze blowing through the trees, making it the perfect day for boating. I was there dressed in a sleeveless shirt and shirt my butterfly AFOs with a light blue background. The boat ramp was slightly covered in water making it impossible for me to walk over it with just my braces on. My brother scooped me up and I wound my arms tightly around his neck. Clomp. Clomp was the sound of his cowboy boots hitting the shiny silver metal. My mom was a little ahead of us, so she warned my brother to watch his step because of the water there. Ever the stubborn boy, my brother never slowed down, thinking nothing of that puddle of water. After all, what was the worst that could happen? My brother did reach that puddle of water, but it wasn't smooth sailing. Before I knew it, his boot slipped and down we went. I thought for sure that he would buckle under the weight of holding me, but to my amazement, he never dropped me. With almost cat like reflexes, he popped ba

This weekend was busy filled with studying editing my paper, and attending my other grandparent's 50 th wedding anniversary. No, that's not a typo. Both sets of grandparents have anniversaries within two weeks of each other. This island was filled with pictures of all of our family. This was the gift table and guest book sign in. Part of my family's (my mom and my brother) gift to them was a poem that I wrote for them. I might do a separate post if you want to read it. I don't want to have information overload in this post. :) They renewed their vows. They never had a real wedding, so this day was very special to them. I have lots of pictures to share from that special event, but I'm not in these specific ones. There will be pictures of the whole family together but they have to be developed first. P.S. I have a couple new things to tell you about. There's a box on my right sidebar for the people that want to subscribe to my posts through email. I also th

As I got older, I discovered what nail polish is. Not quite sure if that's a good thing or not. I asked anyone who would listen to paint my nails, usually Mama or Granny. I wanted pink or, sometimes even with glitter. When they were dry, I would hold my hand out to admire my pretty nails. I got brave one day and went to Granny asking, "Can I paint your nails?" She replied with a hesitant,"Yes." A girl has to have a good workspace, so we headed out to the porch. I dipped my brush in the red paint and went to town painting her nails. Granny was enjoying the breeze, oblivious to what was going on. I painted the nails, but not knowing it should get on the skin. "Give me your other hand, Granny." Soon, I was finished. "Okay, look at your nails!" I said with excitement. Granny looked down, unsure of whether she should laugh or cry. The polish covered half of each finger. What can I say? I'm a full service salon! I don't do anything half wa