Elizabeth Paparazzo

I promised I would introduce my whole family, but after the cats I found it very difficult to find any inspiration, especially after all the rude comments from people who need to insult others to build themselves up. Sad. Anyway, I'm going to do my best to introduce you to Elizabeth Paparazzo or Lis as she likes to be called. She's my sister....sort of and Chloe's Aunt. You'll learn more about Chloe later. Anyway, Lis is married to Chloe's dad's brother if that kind of helps you get the picture. Some people think it would be awkward living with their ex-husband's family, but it really isn't. It's no different than just having roommates that you knew from earlier in your life. It hasn't changed how they view me. Lis is one of the most amazing people I know. I used to not think much of her, because of her weight, weird allergies that don't make sense to me, and other health issues that I was sure she brought on herself. It turns out most of them were symptoms of problems that came before the obvious health issues. I know I'm confusing. So far, if I got this right, this is what I know. She's got diabetes, COPD, Congestive Heart Failure, and Polysystic (spell) Ovaries. She takes insulin among other things and she has to be on oxygen if she's to get out of bed and do anything. Even then it takes a lot out of her. But she does it every single day. She and I spend a lot of time sitting at the dining room table and chatting, listening to youtube videos, and coloring. I also do beadwork there and she helps me by sorting out the beads. She's a real family person who works hard to try to draw family members together instead of tearing them apart. She's helped me to believe I'm capable of improving my life. Sometimes she has to remind me of how capable I am, because I often don't feel capable. I encouraged her to try and get disability even though it is tough and she did. And she got on it right away. No appeals. That's extremely rare. I have a hearing next month for my disability. We'll see how that goes. I'm trying to get my life together, but it's harder than I expected. She always reminds me that I'm not a failure. I'm a good mom to the one child who will still let me be her mom. And I help a lot of people. Success is not defined by an occupation or how much money you have. She's on disability, but she does our laundry and does whatever else she can do to keep up on the housework. A lot of stuff she can't do so she has to ask me, Roger, and Chloe for help. That's okay. Everyone needs a little help sometimes. We don't do this life alone. That's why God put us on this planet along with other people, so we can help each other. I drive her van since she's mostly just at home unless she goes out with one of us. She really can't get out by herself. So, that's helped me out. I live in their house, which she nor Roger hesitated about doing when I couldn't find housing. She's a very giving, loving person, who's always told me if there's something I can't afford that I need to talk to her about it and they'll see what they can figure out to help. I pay my share of the expenses here as well as rent, so I am contributing to the household. Plus we all have our chores and work to maintain the house. She's been a big help in coordinating all that. She's good at stuff like that. When my glasses broke they helped me pay for them and I'm slowly paying them back. I have pretty expensive glasses because of how poor my eyesight is. Anyway, she's an amazing person, who encourages all of us.