Superwoman – Then and Now

I know I've posted these  photos before.  I like them because they epitomize who I am –  or who I've been for the past 20 years.  These photos were taken April 28, 2002 according to the metadata (I learned this word from the Johnny Depp trial :-)).   So these photos were taken just months before my accident.  I actually remember purchasing this Superman shirt at JCPenney.  One of my favorite pastimes was taking self-portraits – before selfies were a thing.

Anyway, I happened across these photos the other day and I wasn't having a very good day and and I thought how nice it would be to look like that again and have a young healthy body that worked properly.

So today I wore my Superman shirt – not the same one – and had Lisa take my photograph.  20 years later – 20 years of being paralyzed from the neck down.  20 years I certainly would not want to relive but also 20 years of mortal experiences that have taught me many things and have shaped my character and who I am now.

I certainly wouldn't recognize me as the same person in the Superman shirt 20 years apart.  I actually took the time to Photoshop the photos to lighten them up a bit because they were very dark.  And I also cropped them.  So I will put the original lightened photo and the cropped ones.  And then at the end I will post my current photo taken today.  I don't really like posting photos of myself now but the contrast is drastic and I want to document it for my next blog book.

Original photo (lightened)

Cropped

Close crop. Downey, California.  April 28, 2002

Original photo (lightened). I love my leather animals and plants.  :-)

Hippopotamus, giraffe, elephant

Cropped. not much different than the one above.  Oh well.

Close crop.

Little did I know when I bought that Superman shirt 20 years ago and took those photos that I would have to become super to survive for the next 20 years.

20 years later.  June 23, 2022

Here I am 20 years later, still kicking it.  Although I look much different now, I'm still sporting my Superman shirt.  Because I am a super woman!  :-)

That's my two cents.