So being sick and having the tubes in my ears swell shut for several weeks ended up being from allergies. Adjusting my allergy medicine and adding a nasal steroid has me on the mend. Yes, just a high pollen season is enough of a weapon from Mother Nature to throw me on my butt for weeks at a time. Coming out of that, I hurt my back. Laundry, the real menace of the aging population. The fun thing about getting older is thinking you just pulled a muscle and coming to find out ACTUALLY you've got bulging discs because your vertebrae are aging and "losing integrity".
This puts a bit of a damper on my brand-spankin' new annual pass to one of our local theme park resort type places. Apparently it's a good thing I rode 2 of the 3 thrill-ish rides I like before this happened, because for the time being I'm not even sure I can walk around one of the parks, let alone ride anything that has a warning on it. The idea of renting a scooter makes me grumpy, but I'll do it if I have to. Incidentally, I've got a sudden interest in full torso braces....
Anywho, I figured the crazy busy schedule that was February would give way to a less busy March, illness and injury aside. Ha. Ha, I say! Back to back to back doctor's appointments, minor surgeries, suture/stitch removal, various nibling assistance. This week alone there are 7 medical appointments, 3 nights of driving niblings places and near endless hours of school work help. To say nothing of the drah-ma involved in why the niblings need help.
On the dog dying of cancer front, we're 5 months to the day after he was given 2 weeks to live. The last week he's become noticeably more sleepy and sluggish. He's famous (in our house) for checking the house at night to make sure the perimeter is secure and everyone is okay. That's stopped. He usually spends our dinner under the dining table. There's now a 50/50 chance he didn't bother to get up from his nap when we eat. He's a notoriously picky eater, so his refusing food or only eating part of his meals isn't necessarily something that we worry too much about on a regular day. (Before you freak out, his skipping a meal or only finishing part is usually made up for with gusto, if a scathing review of the cuisine, on his next meal.) But, today when we upped the tasty factor, he ended up eating about 2/3 of his dinner. The point being, it's coming. He doesn't appear to be in pain, some arthritis in his back legs from his age aside. What comes next, will we have to have him put down, will he die at home & everything that goes with that has us all on edge. I'm trying to do casual advance research to have in the back of my mind because when decisions will have to be made, I'm going to be a mess. A hot, toddler-level, mess. I pray every night now for the not just the strength to handle his loss and appreciate each day he's still here, but for the grace to do right by him and a painless, comfortable end for him. Sorry, that probably should have had a huge flashing trigger warning before I started. Give me a second to swallow back my burgeoning tears and I'll pass around a box of tissues.
Writing: Bits and pieces. I have restarted a short story to get myself back into the groove.
Reading: Still slowly going through the Stephen King short story compendium I've had for a while. Hoping to knock out the other book that I'm maybe 20 pages into during one of this week's doctor visits. Woefully behind on a advanced copy of a manuscript.
Coffee: 3 today. Today was a good day for coffee.
Language: Progress! Got into a free online language program a friend of a friend has been using for the last year. Duolingo. Create an account, choose a language, set a daily goal, download the free apps so you can practice where ever. I've met my goal 8 of the last 8 days (which is how long ago I signed up). I really like it. Some days I meet the minimum, some days I blow it out of the water. If you're interested (they really do have a wide variety of languages to learn or brush up on - you can test out of skill sets based on what you may already know) and/or want someone to friend up with on the site, just let me know.
Positivity: I'm hanging in there, you know? I think I'm so busy with so many things changing every freaking day that it makes me appreciate the positive and not focus on negativity. I'll take it. There's a lot to look forward to this year, a lot of daily victories in the darnedest places.
No comments:
Post a Comment