July 26, 2009

Mind-Numbingly Tired

Thursday afternoon, Hubby and I picked up Brother Bear and drove the seven hours to the in-laws house. By the time they signed their closing papers at noon Friday, we had the U-Haul packed, the pickup packed, their minivan packed, and our SUV packed. The house was vacuumed and we were ready to hit the road by 1:30pm. We finally pulled into their apartment parking lot about 9:30pm, unloaded their beds and luggage, and bid them good night so we could go sleep in our own bed.

We got up Saturday morning at 7:00, went back to their apartment, and unpacked until 2:30. We came home so the in-laws could rest and once home, we decided to take a nap too. I didn't think I would be able to get to sleep in the middle of the day but I think I was asleep the minute I pulled up the footrest on the recliner, unopened book still in my hand. Hubby and I woke up about 6:30, picked the garden and then headed back over to the apartment for a few more hours. By then we were all dead tired.

This morning I woke up at 7:00, stumbled into the den, turned on the tv, and fell asleep on the sofa, finally waking again about 9:30, still so tired I could have gone back to bed. But I forced myself to start moving, went to the grocery store and we headed back to their apartment to pick them up for lunch. Another nap after lunch, another quick trip to the store, and we headed back over there to play a game with them to cheer them up. Mama Bear misses her house and her friends.

Until next time, may you have blessings and refreshing sleep,
Marti

July 22, 2009

The In-Laws are Coming!

What a hectic week! After making the decision to move here, the in-laws quickly sold their house and began sorting through their sixty year accumulation: keep, sell, toss, give. Sounds simple, but it wasn't. They hired an auctioneer to have a public auction on Saturday and they will close on their house the following Friday. After the auction on Saturday, we loaded up Brother Bear's pickup with large backyard objects and they went home.

It was when we began loading our flatbed trailer that we learned that Deedee was paralized with stress. A lot of the boxes were only partially filled, or stuff was in boxes that had no lids or top flaps. So I began filling boxes with anything that would fit, and repacking boxes that couldn't be closed, while Hubby loaded the trailer.

The next morning, Sunday, we began packing boxes to fill our pickup and once again, I began filling boxes with everything I could find. Every time I picked up something to put in a box, Deedee had an objection, either she wanted to sort through things first or she didn't think it needed to be in a box. She kept saying she had all week to do it, until I reminded her that she didn't have a week. She had three-and-a-half days until the boys came back to load their U-Haul. After I said that a few times, she finally gave in and let me pack everything I could find. I convinced her that an open basket of magazines would either be crushed or turned over if not packed, and she let me pack the pictures she had "packed" by wrapping in a tablecloth.

We ran out of boxes and room in the pickup before we got everything packed, but Deedee assured us she would have plenty of time to pack the remaining dishes, clothes, linens, and cleaning supplies. I called her Monday night to see how much she got done and she told me she packed two things. Two. Things. I told her she had two-and-a-half days left and asked her to set a goal of getting all their suitcases and everything left in closets packed on Tuesday.

On Monday, I went over to their new apartment and cleaned the bathroom and kitchen, and began unpacking the boxes we had dropped off there Sunday night. My Sis-in-law joined me and we had all the boxes unpacked and the stuff put somewhere so all Deedee has to do is rearrange stuff without having to lift boxes and deal with boxes, packing trash and black fingers from newspaper print. Hubby put their porch swing together last night while I vacuumed their apartment and potted a plant for their front porch.

Their new home looks great - mine, on the other hand is a neglected wreck! But it will be worth it if they can start living here without the stress they've been living with for the last month.

July 09, 2009

A Cure For Loneliness

I'll admit, since both girls moved I've indulged in many a pity party and curried my gray cloud, feeling a bit like I no longer have a purpose in life. When I was getting ready to go to Santa Fe with my girlfriends, I stopped by a Ross store for clothes. Ross is one of those stores where there are too many clothes on rack after discounted rack in the store. It's a store where people use shopping carts, or at least they try, though it is impossible to get the things between the rows of racks. It's also a store where women, who have no other choice, bring their children with them while they shop.

I don't like shopping, and really dislike shopping alone, but here I was, sliding one disappointing shirt after another across the tiny gap on the rack I had made by cramming my hand between the sizes. Behind me, in the area near the dressing room, I heard a child crying. At first it was just soft crying but soon became loud wailing, you know that forced cry that children do when the initial cry is over but they just can't give it up or want to punish the parent. The wailing was coming closer and now I could hear the mother.

"That's enough." Louder wailing.

"I said that's enough."

"You're a mean mama!" said by a boy about four or five.

"Yep, get in line." Louder wailing as the mother herded him into the checkout line, which at Ross is never short.

"You're a mean mama!" he repeated and resumed wailing.

I remembered a similar scene with Lil, except she never got to express her opinion of me in front of a small crowd, as my rule was to tell them to stop doing something, and if they didn't I would start counting. If it ever got to five, they were in big trouble. Getting to five also meant that even if I had spent an hour finding the perfect widget, that widget was left in the store while I escorted/dragged/carried the offending offspring from the store.

So I smiled and thought to myself that shopping alone wasn't so bad after all.

Until next time, may you have blessings and pleasant shopping,
Marti

July 08, 2009

Road Rage

I was driving on the interstate today, going just a mile or two over the speed limit when I happened to notice the pickup next to me wasn't passing. I glanced over and the driver was yelling at me with an angry look on his face, and gesturing, yeah, those gestures. As soon as he saw me glance over, he hit the gas, swerved into my lane and was soon out of sight. I guess I wasn't going fast enough for him.

Folks who give in to road rage shouldn't do it in a company vehicle with the phone number on the tailgate, and then swerve in front of the victim so they can get a really good look at the number. So now that I have his number.....

Until next time, may you have blessings and clear highways,
Marti

July 04, 2009

I'll Admit It, I'm a Wimp

As I wrote about before, I started playing tennis again about a month ago. Things have changed since I played so many years ago and I am probably a 2.5 player playing with 3.5 players, and as a result of playing harder than I should have at the beginning, and just being older, I developed some problems. The first was the hip pain which finally went away after a two week break, but then my elbow started hurting. I bought a forearm strap and tried to play through it, but finally the pain became too persistent even after icing so I went to the doctor.

If you've read any of my other posts on the subject, you know I'm not a fan of doctor's offices, and this one was no exception. My appointment was at 9:30 and I walked in the office at precisely 9:30. Being a new patient, I probably should have been there at 9:15 to fill out ten pages of questions, but as it turned out, that didn't seem to matter since the doctor was running behind.

After the paperwork, I started looking around for a magazine. Other than one that someone was reading, there were no magazines in the room, not even a medical journal. So I played a game on my phone until that got boring. It was now 10:00 and no one in the room had been called back and two more people had come in. I heard snoring and looked up to see a man about 30 sitting with his head back on the only upholstered chair in the room. The man and woman across from me saw me look up and we all started laughing. The lady said she always had to wait so long. I went to the bathroom and when I came back, the man across from me put his finger to his lips and nodded at the man on the upholstered chair who was now sitting sideways in the chair with his head pillowed on his arm. I wished I had my camera. And a magazine.

I was finally called back to the examining room where I again had to wait, but here there were about twenty magazines on the table so I picked up a Ladies Home Journal to read while waiting for the doctor.

When he came in, he did some tests putting pressure on my hands and told me I had several options, but my elbow would recover faster and stronger if I had a cortisone shot followed by a week of methylprednisolone and physical therapy and could resume tennis in two weeks. He said that the shot could cause a white spot, or loss of pigment, where the needle went in and it would be permanent, and it could cause the loss of the fatty tissue around the area but it will come back. I asked if it hurt and he said it will sting a little. So I said ok.

The PA came in to give the shot, and it didn't just sting, it hurt and I yelled like a little kid. He said it would only sting for a little while, so I picked up my purse and the Ladies Home Journal and wished the PA wasn't there so I could grab a bunch of the magazines for the front waiting room. When I walked into the waiting room, the man who was sitting across from me was still there, along with about ten more people. I asked if he wanted a magazine and his face lit up until I handed him the magazine. He laid it on the table beside him and as I left I wondered how long before even the Ladies Home Journal sounded interesting to him.

I got out at 11:00 and ran a couple of errands on my way home. After lunch, my arm was hurting worse so I sat in a chair to watch Wimbledon and let the pain ease. Hubby had the day off but had to run in to the office so he took my prescription for the Methylpred pak. Three hours later the pain was so bad I couldn't even move my fingers without a sharp pain shooting through my elbow and my fingers on that hand were swollen.

Hubby brought home my prescription about 5:00. When I read the information sheet, it said not to take it if you have a systemic fungal infection, and since I have battled Candida for years I decided not to start it until talking to the doctor on Monday.

Until next time, may you have blessings and good health,
Marti