Would it surprise you to hear that things have been really busy lately? Yeah, didn’t think so. But I’m going to try and get you up to speed.
I’ve talked before about having to work harder for a boss with high expectations. That hasn’t changed. If anything he seems to continually raise his expectations. This week he’s asked me to be a mentor to a “new” hire. New is in quotes because the lady I’m mentoring has been with my company for 10 years. She just transferred into my group this month. Before she joined the company she worked at another company we all know for 32 years before retiring. So she’s been working since before I was born. And I’m her mentor? Most of the mentoring is really about systems and procedures, so it’s no big deal. My job is just to give her an idea of how get the administrative part of our job done. I like it, but it sucks up a few hours of my time every week. The boss has laid down a few more expectations too. Nothing big, but again, challenging. I’m still pretty amazed what it’s done for my morale. I am really happy in my work for the first time in a while.
School seems to be going well too. I’m getting A’s, although in Anatomy only barely. I don’t study all that much and most of what I do is last minute type stuff. But, like I said, as long as I get a B- I’m good. I’ve worked out a count down to the minimum number of points I need in the class to get that grade. It’s completely doable I think. Microbiology is a guaranteed A. It’s an easy class and the instructor makes it pretty damn hard to fail. Plus I enjoy the lectures. The instructor is gay and to me is a cross between Paul Lind and Jim J. Bullock. He’s entertaining in a subject that could easily be tedious.
Home is really the toughest part of my life. Mona has really had a hard time this winter. Since she has to dispatch snowplows when the weather gets bad she has been going in to work odd, and often long, hours. The fact that this is one of the snowiest winters on record has not helped matters. The last I saw we’re just under the 5’ mark for the season. (Luckily we’ve had a couple of melts; otherwise we’d be in real trouble.) What really makes things difficult is that she is not a winter person. She really likes the sun, and the more sunshine she gets the better. The funny thing to me is the fact that she’s an Irish red head. If she leaves the house between June and August I have to dress her up in welding gear just to make sure she doesn’t burst into flames. Actually I have to insist she wear sun screen. She doesn’t care for it, but most of the time I get my way. I, on the other hand, prefer the indoors although with my olive complexion I rarely burn. Anyway, Mona has always suffered a little from the winter blahs. But this year it’s been bad. Add the blahs to her funky schedule and her desire to still be at home with The Peanut full time, my time away from the family for school and a possible (fairly minor) autoimmune illness she’s had some trouble with depression. I finally got upset with her about 2 weeks ago. I told her I was tired of all the crying and sleeping and all the rest. I insisted she talk with her doctor. She went in this week and was given some anti-depressants and more importantly a note for 2 weeks off work.
She’s somewhat upset and embarrassed about being off, and to a certain extent I understand that. She said today that she is concerned that I’m unhappy about our problems, specifically her time off. I told her that she was exactly wrong. The fact that she sought treatment and is making progress makes me very happy. I’m not expecting overnight miracles but any step forward is a step in the right direction.
She was seen on Tuesday night. Earlier that day The Peanut was sent home sick from daycare with a fever and cough. We got her in to the doctor on Wednesday. They took a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia, told us it was a virus and told us to give her plenty of fluids and bring her back on Saturday if the fever hadn’t broken. We’ll be headed over there in the morning. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Wednesday evening Mona was feeling pretty rough; mostly from the new meds (which she’ll be off in the spring) so I picked up some carry out from a really good Chinese place not far from home. It was later in the evening because I was at work longer than usual; trying to catch up on all the stuff I didn’t get done in the morning due to The Peanuts doctor visit and an appointment with a customer. Because she wasn’t feeling great, The Peanut was not interested in dinner and really wanted to be held. It didn’t matter to her that Mommy and Daddy wanted to scarf down some dinner. We eat in the kitchen usually. We have a counter with a couple of bar stools that we use instead of the dining room. So I had The Peanut on my right knee and was turned away from the counter enough to keep busy hands out of our dinners while I ate with my left hand.
Have you ever held on to a water balloon that wasn’t knotted and felt it drain? That’s what it felt like when The Peanut yakked. She managed to miss the food but hit the counter and the floor and got a little on the dog too.
We got her cleaned up and managed to finish dinner. Then I went and got some pedialite and put her to bed.
And that’s how Mona and I spent our 3rd wedding anniversary. What can I say? We’re true romantics.
Anyway, the next two days were pretty much the same, Mona at home with a sick peanut and me out selling stuff and trying to win as much bread as I can.
To top it off, my backs been bugging me again. I'm certain it's weight related, but nonetheless it hurts. It only really hurts at night. Getting out of bed in the morning is rather painful. Vicodin is getting me through the day, and by the time it wears off in the evening everything has loosened up to the point that I feel pretty good. And then I go to bed and we start the cycle all over.
I think after we get back from the doctors office tomorrow I'm going to talk to Mona about getting a new TENS machine. It's a little device that works off a 9 volt battery and sends a mild electric current through electrodes you place around the injured area. I have one now but the wires are breaking and I don't know if I can replace them. It's very effective for me and is, in my opinion, an excellent alternative to medication.
So now you're up to speed.
What have you been up to?
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4 comments:
Ah, Mona and I must be related. I'm an Irish redhead who loves to be in the sun, as well. I do, however, put on my SPF 50, especially race weekends (not that I'll need to worry about those ever again). I hate winter with the passion of a thousand suns, which is weird since winter greys don't usually get to me. It's the bitter cold and snow I hate. I can handle grey days as long as it's 30-40F. Below that I get cranky!!!
Poor Peanut, not feeling well. I'm glad Mona got some time off. It's not good to be depressed and exhausted. Looks like this winter crap is finally tapering off, so hopefully, she won't be leaving anybody in the lurch and then feeling bad about it - although she shouldn't.
Have you thought about sleeping with a heating pad? The new one I just bought turns itself off which is very handy!
Mona is not good with cold (anything below 45-50) or with reduced sunlight. She lived in Ecuador for a while and claims that daylight from 6 to 6 really worked for her. Her body clock was really in sync there. Of course she fried like an egg in a blast furnace.
The Peanut is back to school. I think the virus ran its course but it left behind an ear infection.
This one is her 6th, although I think 2-4 were the same one. We've run through the first line antibiotics, Amoxicillin and Augementin, then Zythromax and now we're on to one I can neither spell nor pronounce. It starts with a C.
She saw and ENT today who wants to put tubes in her ears. I want a second opinion. I don't like tubes and I want her to be a swimmer and a diver. I believe tubes impare those things. Obviously her health and hearing come first, but surgery needs to be a last resort.
All these infections are from those other little germ factories she goes to school with. Some of those kids constantly have a flow of green boogers, day after day, week after week.
Get your kid to the Doctor people! For this reason alone I am ready for the end of winter.
I used to sleep on a heating pad. Then one day I went to see a physical therapist who wanted to take pictures of the burns I'd developed.
It was kind of weird. They weren't red or blistered like a sun burn, really the skin was more mottled and splotchy. I suppose that wouldn't have happened if it had an auto off, but I'm willing to bet I would have just kept turning it on.
Anyway, the PT got me stopped and onto the TENS machine and ice, both of which are very effective for me.
The discomfort I feel is more realted to pinched nerves than muscle pain, so heat is less effective.
I'm not saying don't use the heat, I'm just saying for me it's not helpful.
I'm usually asleep when the heating pad turns itself off, so I never turn it back on.
Ah, nerve pain, been there, done that. Had the surgery. Not a good time. The TENS machine didn't help me at all, but then again nothing did, except surgery. Good luck with that. I highly recommend my neurosurgeon if you need one.
Oh yeah, I'm with Mona on temp, although my threshold is higher. I can handle lower, but hate it. Prefer 70-90. ;-)
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