Wesley Dean Baker here.

I am doing okay; some days, though, I wonder about that.  Some days my stump hurts so bad it's all I can think about -- meaning the pain.  Or I get frustrated because it seems my quest to get SSDI (Social Security Disability Income) has hit a brick wall, with no sign of it yielding.

It is very frustrating to have to go back and forth to the Social Security Office and tell these bozos that I cannot work; I only have one arm.  Yet they tell me I'm not disabled enough, when all they have to do is look at me.  Who is going to hire someone who only has one arm??  Not many people, I can assure you!

I am, however, not without hope:  I am relying on my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, to get me through, in which He always does.  I mean, He provides for all my needs:  finances, food, a roof over my head:  many people don't have it nearly as good as I do; therefore, I should learn to be thankful in these lean times and count my (many) blessings God has bestowed upon me.

Today, however, I don't have to think about that:  I am stuck in the house, thanks to a powerful storm system that dumped 1 1/2 feet of snow on the Nashville metro area.  Many businesses and all schools have been cancelled for the day; there is snow everywhere you look.  While the city's snowplows have cleared the streets of snow, travel, however, is being discouraged, as the roads are still very slick and treacherous.

Today I am sitting in my room, on the computer, a mug of hot soup on the table next to me, and my dog, "Gizmo", lying at my feet, snoring her little butt off.  LOL  There's a nice fire roaring in the fireplace, and I'm waiting for mom and dad to get back from the store.  (They are getting some basic necessities:  bread, milk, butter, batteries, etc.)

My sister, Cierrah, who is 25, is sitting across from me, watching me type.  She was supposed to have gone to her college for classes, but since the colleges are shut down on account of the snow, she has nothing more to do than to watch me as I type.  She and I do have our moments where we squabble, but most of the time, we get along just fine.

Maybe later I will get outside and try to coax Cierrah into a snowball fight.  Maybe that will cheer her up; she hates to miss any classes.  She's always been what I call "booksmart" while I am as dumb as an ox.  LOL

In the meantime, I am trusting in God to get me the money I need instead of living off the care of others.  I may not have an arm, but that doesn't mean I am stupid or incapable.  It's just sad that some people can't look beyond my disability or ask silly questions that make me angry or frustrated. 

And it doesn't help when the government doesn't want to give me a break.  Of course I'm disabled; why would I be applying for SSDI if I wasn't?  I mean, I have a known disability that can be seen as soon as you look at me; if I could, I would work, but I can't.  So this is why I have applied for SSDI.

I don't like this, staying at home, day after day, trying to scare up something to do.  At least on Sundays, I have church; at church, I can forget about all my problems and worship my God, who continues to sustain me. 

Well, I have to run.  Cierrah wants to use the computer, so I will go for now.  I will write in here again soon; until later, this is Wesley Dean Baker saying so long!  Take care and God bless!

~Wesley. 

*To be continued.*