Before I show you all the cute pictures and happy moments from October, let's get the whining and self-pitying out of the way first. So, first, the bad.
Wait. First, a bit of the good. Back in September, when I was looking ahead, I could see that October's calendar was packed. With good things: soccer games, PTO meeting, parent-teacher conferences, Mary's birthday, Scout camp out, a fabulous friend's baby shower, doctor's appointments, Montessori parent education, Halloween and all that, Greg's conference in Phoenix, Lego Club, a visit from Aunt Marie, and so forth. All good things that I value! (Except for Greg's Scout camp out. Let's be honest, I would not put that in my personal "good" column.) As the month progressed, more good things came up. Like informal meetings with my kids' teachers and volunteering in their classrooms. Also, Greg and I realized that a couple of big issues with David had come up that needed to be addressed--both requiring thoughtfulness, care, time, and emotional energy. Life definitely felt even more busy than usual. But it was a good busy, the kind that makes your life richer and fulfilling.
Except that I was miserable. MISERABLE! Cue the pity party ...
At the end of September I caught a little cold. No big deal, except that it became the Eternal Chest Cold of Doom. I just never got better. Very fortunately, it never turned into pneumonia or bronchitis or anything serious. The virus and my immune system were simply at a stalemate, having dug themselves in for some violent but unproductive trench warfare, the battle ground being my lungs. (My excuse for the imagery is David's continued interest in World War I.) You know how a cold doesn't stop you dead in your tracks: You can pretty much carry on, just sapped of your normal strength. That's how I was. Not bed-ridden or feverish. Just plagued with a nasty chronic cough, never-ending congestion, and lower energy. And it went on week after week (after week!) with no change. (Finally, the Battle of Amiens--I'm just now, six weeks later, starting to feel like I'm recovering.) What a drag.
Meanwhile, I started feeling discomfort in the back of my rib cage at the beginning of October. Within a few days, the discomfort turned to pain. And soon enough the pain became excruciating. The short of it is that I couldn't sit for more than 15 minutes without being in real pain, and after not much longer, the pain would become excruciating. Excruciating, as in "I better pull over the car because I'm going to vomit the pain is so bad." Being on my feet wasn't as bad--I could go half and hour or more without feeling anything. But sitting became nearly impossible.
Okay. Let's think about this for a second. How do I spend my day? Driving my kids around--in particular, Mary, whose school's new location entails a 60-minute round trip drive twice a day. And the other way I spend my time? Sitting at the computer--blogging, answering emails, reading, shopping, whatever. So, yes, it suddenly became very apparent that most of my life is spent with my rear end parked behind the steering wheel or in front of the computer because I could no longer do those things! Darn mystery pain! I knew I (or the baby) wasn't in any real danger health-wise. But it sure was INCONVENIENT.
My doctor sent me to a physical therapist, who pointed out the obvious (to everyone but me) that the pain was from the coughing. Curse you, Eternal Chest Cold of Doom! I had injured the muscles and ligaments between my ribs, and everything was all inflamed. The PT not so helpfully pointed out that if I weren't pregnant I could take ibuprofen and it would probably heal in no time. She seemed skeptical that I could fully heal without taking fist fulls of Motrin, but she, again not so helpfully, pointed out that I could take all the ibuprofen I wanted after I had the baby. In three months. Three months!!! Was this going to last for three months?! Possibly, she shrugged. She also pointed out that it would probably heal faster if I stopped coughing. And sitting. (To be fair, I really liked the physical therapist. We got along quite well. And, hey, she solved the mystery. It's not her fault I'm banned from Advil.)
To be honest, I probably can't overstate what a problem the stupid rib pain was. (Or how painful it could be.)
How to get Mary to school and back? I would have to pull the car over partway and walk around, hoping that would ease the pain a bit. So I became the crazy pregnant lady who would stop at the Mobil gas station and pace the three short aisles of the mini-mart several times a day. So pathetic, it's embarrassing. One afternoon when I thought I would DIE if I had to make that drive (or kill someone else--I am not oblivious to the fact that it can't be safe to operate a motor vehicle while blinded by pain), my friend Becca saved the day and made the drive for me. Fortunately (for me and the friends I would have been forced to impose upon), Greg was able to shift his schedule around so that he could make the hour-long trek twice a day. Which was no small sacrifice. Two full hours lost each day put his already tight research schedule in even more jeopardy. (As usual, it is Greg who bears the burden of my problems. As usual, Greg is the hero. But let's just say October brought this hero a few more gray hairs.)
My life became full of ridiculous calculations.
Can David go to that birthday party? Who might be able to give him a ride? If not, how far away is it? How long will I be in the car? Will I have enough time between dropping him off and picking him up to recover from the pain?
Can I go to the soccer game? If I start out completely pain-free, I can probably survive it. So how long do I have to lie down in bed right before the soccer game in order to start out pain-free? Will I have enough time?
Church? Out of the question.
Baby shower? Cancel. (And shed some tears.)
Commitments at David's school? Okay. The school is close, a very short drive. I'll try to stand as much as possible rather than sit once I'm there.
Commitments at Mary's school? Grin and bear it. Or cancel.
Doctor's appointments? Painful but necessary.
Blogging? No way.
Email? Be fast. Aim for every other day.
Eating with the family at the dinner table? Sit on a pillow and eat fast.
Mary's birthday? Grin and bear it. Grin and bear it.
I knew I needed to just take a couple weeks off from life and HEAL. But it was a busy month full of busy things. Good things! There were too many times when I said, "Okay, I just have to tough it out today. And tomorrow. And the day after that. In three days I'll rest. Or wait, make it four. I'll rest in four days. Or next week." Because, you know what, that's what you do as a mom. You tough it out. Right?
Right?
Anyway, I still have one more oh so exciting development in the Eternal Chest Cold of Doom saga. Plus a bonus surprise to top off the "bad" of October. But I have been sitting at this computer way too long, and my ribs are calling out for a heating pad and some T.V. on the couch. So I'll publish what I have, and we'll call it a night.
P.S. Yes, I am deeply embarrassed that the majority of the writing I've managed on my blog the last few months has consisted primarily of what's wrong with my body. So pathetic. But life is what it is, I guess. And now you'll appreciate the cute pictures so much more once I finally get to them!!
