Donna's Diary

My name is Donna Fairchild and I've been a consumer with Imagine! for more than 25 years. In a couple months I will be moving into the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome on Iris Street in Boulder. I used to live in the old Iris Group Home years ago, and it will be interesting to live in that exact same location in a brand new house.

I have been a member of Imagine!'s Board of Directors for the past six years, and as a Board member I want to do my part to help spread the word about the important work that Imagine! does. That is why I'm going to be writing a monthly diary about my experiences living in the SmartHome. I hope you will follow along and share in this new phase of my life.

I'm excited to be moving into the SmartHome for a number of reasons. I will be living with a girl that I've known since we went to school together. I was really surprised and happy to find out that I'll be able to spend time with her. We kind of lost track of each other years ago, and now we can make up for lost time. Another neat thing about the SmartHome is if you want to cook something and you don't know how to do it, there are talking devices that tell you step by step how to cook it. There are a lot of other things that I'm looking forward to telling you about, and I'll know a lot more about them once I move into the SmartHome. I look forward to sharing my experiences with you.

Talk to you next month!

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In less than one month I will be moving into the SmartHome.  It's an exciting time for me, but moving can be a bit scary.  All of us who are going to be living in the SmartHome went bowling a few weeks ago (see pictures here).   I like that I'm getting the opportunity to spend time with and get to know the people I'll be living with.  As much as it's going to be great living in a brand new house and making new friends, I will miss my friends at 18th Street PCA and will keep in touch with them.  It's only a mile from where I live now to the SmartHome, so keeping in touch shouldn't be a problem.

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On July third, I moved into the SmartHome.  I moved in and unpacked, then toured the neighborhood.  I got to meet one of the neighbors who has the same name as mine (Donna).  I love it, I love this house!  My life is becoming more of what I want it to be.  Instead of living in a home where people have to take care of me, I'm glad I'll be able to have a place to call my home where I can do more things by myself.  I give this SmartHome two thumbs up!

I never thought I'd live in an upgraded house, and this is more than an upgrade.  It's a brand spankin' new home!  There is so much stuff in this house that will help us all to be more independent, it is hard to explain how much this means to me.  I love it here at the Smarthome, it is very much something I have ever dreamed of to live in. 

Then, to top it off, Gerald (Stopa) and I are getting married August 15 th.  A couple weeks ago the Twisted Pine Brewery had a reception for me and Gerald, and the brewery and Imagine! staff pitched in money that will be used to help pay for our wedding.  I'm starting a blog too.  As you can see, I'm a really happy lady right now.    

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Gerald and I are happy that we're getting married on September 12th and that we'll be living together at the SmartHome.  Gerald's mom and dad are also happy that we're getting married, and that I'll be a part of their family.  I was thrilled with the way his mom and dad accepted me into their family. 

Gerald was so happy to see his mom and dad that he was screaming and squealing with joy.  When his parents arrived, staff came back to get me but I was at my computer and for a couple seconds it didn't register that Gerald's mom and dad were here.  I had never met them, and all of the sudden it hit me, ‘Oh my gosh, Gerald's mom and dad are here.  I've got to get out there and meet them.'   I was blown away with how nice they are!

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This is the most spectacular month that I've had in my entire life.  It's still sinking in that I'm married to Gerald.  It's exciting to see the smiles on people's faces, and to know that they are smiling because they are happy for me and Gerald.  Most people don't know that it was Alex Andrews and Betsy Janowak who introduced us. Alex had come to 18th Street PCA where I was living, to visit Betsy, and he said to me, “I know someone who would like to be better acquainted with you.”  I was ready to give up on guys at the time, to throw the idea of dating right down the drain.  When I met Gerald, it was…WOW.  It made it really easy because we both liked each other right off the bat.  And look at us now, we're married and happy.

Check out photos of the wedding here.

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I am happy that my wedding came off without any problems.  Well, almost anyway.  I had a dress that was draped over the back of my wheelchair and it tore when my chair ran over it.  It wasn't my nice dress though, it was just to cover up the duffle bag on the back of my chair and so I'd have a train.  It was embarrassing at the time, but I guess it's funny now. 

One of the things I like about being married is being called Mrs. instead of Miss. Another good thing that's happened to me in the last month is I have more hours at my job at InClover.  I used to work only Wednesdays, and now I work Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  That means I have more spending money.  Gerald likes that too! 

When I first came to Imagine! I was living in the old Iris House.  That's the house that was torn down to build this brand new SmartHome.  It is strange living in the same location as I did so many years ago, and having it be so wonderful now.  Back then it was hard to get around in the house, and now I can go anywhere in the house on my own. 

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Well, my life has slowed down a bit in the past two months and that's fine with me.  Between moving into the SmartHome and getting married I got a little worn out.  Don't get me wrong, these were two of the best things that happened to me in my life, it's just that now I can enjoy myself and not worry about how things are going to turn out.  One of the other things that has been really good in my life is that Gerald is talking more than he used to.  He keeps making more and more progress and that really tickles me. 

The past few weeks I've been able to spend time with some old friends, especially my three housemates from the 18th Street PCA (the Station) and some of the staff from there too. Sometimes Christian (one of the staff from 18 th Street PCA) brings his beautiful baby girl to the SmartHome and it's delightful to see her.  You wouldn't believe such a little kid would recognize someone but the other day she waved at me.  It made me happy because you never know how kids are going to react to a person in a wheelchair. 

It's kind of funny when people visit the SmartHome, and with all the different technology that's here the one thing they all sure are impressed with is the size of our TV.  I guess it's something that everyone can relate to.  I'm getting to know my housemates better all the time, and even though we don't agree on everything, we make it work out and I love being here.   

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I think I have had the best year of my life.  I've been healthy, I got married, and I moved into the SmartHome.  It's so great to be around a whole group of people who care about others.  This includes all my housemates and the SmartHome staff.  It makes a whole different outlook in your life.  Without being around people who care about others it's easy to feel like life is not going very well.

At the SmartHome, we've got a tree with presents already under it.  I'm going shopping with Lauren to get more presents today.  I've even got a Secret Santa who leaves me presents at the SmartHome.  We all drew names and are giving presents to each other.  I think that's cool.  Having a husband at Christmas makes it special.  Gerald thinks it's special too.   

Next week, the Dreamrocket quilt Gerald and I both got to work on is going to be at Imagine! all day.  (Wednesday the 30th).  I love to watch how much effort Gerald puts into his art.  When he paints, it's wonderful to see the designs he comes up with. 

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We have sure been busy at the SmartHome.  We've been running around like chickens with our heads cut off, but I like that.  I love being busy.  With our jobs, classes, appointments, and other activities, it's tough to keep up with ourselves so I know it's hard for you all to keep up with us. 

One of my favorite activities is the art class I take with C.O.R.E./Labor Source on Wednesdays.  Gerald and I are both in the class.  The teachers, Aliza and Chris, come up with a lot of interesting projects for us to do. They are both favorites of mine.  They are sweet and very good teachers. 

Work at In Clover is going well too.  I enjoy the people there.  As a matter of fact, I lost my wedding ring there and one of my coworkers found it on the ground and returned it to me.  Boy did that make me happy to get my ring back.  It had fallen off my finger when I was getting on the bus.  I was so upset that when I got home I didn't want to go inside the house.  When I finally did go in, Gerald knew something was up and asked me, “What's wrong?”  I told him I'd lost my wedding ring and he gave me a big hug.  Now I have a ring that fits better and won't fall off. 

We've all been having fun here at the SmartHome.  I enjoy living here.  Now that Christian (an Imagine! staff member who is my friend from when I lived at 18 th Street PCA), has a brother (JT) working at the SmartHome, he comes by more often .  JT lives here at the SmartHome with us, and he's a sweet guy, just like Christian.  So, overall, things are going really well for me.

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It’s been another interesting month at the SmartHome.  All the residents continue to get to know each other better and the way we get along so well is wonderful.  We all make compromises and try to respect each others’ privacy and space, but I think we all get along great.  At times it’s even a shock how well we get along.  We all recently got brand new closet space in our rooms.  For those of us who use wheelchairs, we have shelves on the dressers, which makes it easier for us to get at our clothes.

On Valentine’s Day Gerald and I went to Sol Azteca for dinner and it was a great Valentine’s Day dinner.  It’s been five months since we got married, and my relationship with Gerald gets better all the time.  I’ve made a sincere effort to show that I care for him more and more all the time.  That’s how marriage should be, when two people care more and more about each other over time.  A while back he politely told me that he’d like a little more effort on my part to show him how much I care for him, and it was a reasonable request. 

Even though all of us at the SmartHome have a need for our alone time, I get a kick out of it if I’m going to my room to use my computer and Gerald says, “I want to go to my girl’s room and spend time with her.”  Sometimes he will just sit by me and watch me do things on the computer.  He says he just wants to be near me and that’s pretty neat. Now I’m a computer freak, but I will always have time and MAKE time for Gerald. 

So, as you can see, life just seems to be getting better and better all the time. 

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