Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Would You Like a Little Tofu With That Whine?

So what exactly is it that they say about the best laid plans? I think all I've ever heard is "Well, ya know what they say about the best laid plans!...." and (after a mocking chuckle and a shake of the head) "...the best laid plans.....". Personally, if I felt I needed a strong basis for the argument to never plan anything, I'd use James 4:13-16.

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

Being a mist and all, it was probably a bad idea to decide what to make for dinner ahead of time. Of my planned dinners- and this being Wednesday night now- I have made......none. Nada. Not one. Desserts? Nope.

And Monday should have been easy; all I needed to do is defrost the soup I made last week, chop a few veggies, skip the beggar's purses, and butter a few pieces of bread. It's not much, it's certainly not fancy, but it's dinner. Unfortunately, there were a few kinks in the path to a warm tasty dinner on Monday.

The first bump in the road was realized when I rolled over in bed to thank my alarm clock for the 6 am wake up by whacking it in the head. Simply rolling from my left side to my right sent shoots of dull, oppressive pain running through my joints and muscles. My head felt like a fish bowl filled with manky water and big, loose rocks and it seemed that a rodent of some sort had lodge itself in my throat. Swallowing was very near impossible. Every step from the third floor down to the kitchen felt like I was hobbling out of surgery where I'd just been stitched up. It was hideous.

I consider myself to be a moderately strong woman. I'm no Corrie ten Boom, but with time I usually come to grips with tough situations and can take it. No cold/flu can get the best of me! All you really need to know is that in order to endure my load I have to let off steam. Usually that means talking it through regularly (poor Heather knows all about this one- she's most often my ear), but if opening my mouth hurts I'm going to have to vent my frustrations in a more primitive way. Uh-huh. I'm gonna cry.

And cry.

And cry some more.

Then I'll wipe all the tears away and toss the Kleenex in the bin. I'll tighten the belt on my robe, pull up my sleeves and start making The Boys' lunches...... and then I'll cry, maybe even having to throw the soggy bread out and start over with the lunches.

I might even sob a couple times before the Tylenol kicks in.

And then the pain lifted and I was me again. The rest of the morning was normal, except that Ian had an appointment with the allergist. Poor boy got poked and pricked, stuck and squeezed. In the end, it looks like he's still allergic to milk and now we've added peanuts, peas, walnuts, shell fish, and cashews. Uh-oh. There's the vegan version of cream in the corn chowder we're having for dinner, and it's made from- you guessed it- cashews. Bump #2.

Not that it mattered. I made it out of the allergy clinic and down to the pharmacy before I fully realized my pain relievers had worn off. I sat in a chair that had a magical gravitation pull and found that all my limbs had quadrupled in weight, which could only mean that I'd have to die in the chair. I managed to phone Tim to set up weekly visits and the occasional sponge bath when the chills and tears started.

Someone must have been in the back of the pharmacy, watching me and switching the heat off and on, just to see me go from shivering violently under my thick winter coat, to throwing it off and pulling my trousers legs up to my knees to release some heat so that I didn't catch fire. All the while crying, my tears feeling either like hot lava or ice water depending on what the sneaky pharmacy heat guy was doing.

By the time all my mascara was smudged into a tissue and smeared around my eyes, I remembered that an emergency room was just at the end of the hall. I thought if I could break free of the the gravity I might try crawling there, maybe grabbing a nap on the way. Just as I'd gathered my strong womanly resolve to follow my plan, Tim arrived and escorted me to my van, where I took more Tylenol and threw in a Motrin for good measure. Half an hour later I had returned and the shivering, crying lady was gone.

Too bad for the family, she came back right about the time I should have been making dinner. It's still not clear what Kristine made for dinner, but I suspect it was here specialty: mac 'n cheese from a box. Put differently, Zach and Ian couldn't/wouldn't eat dinner that night. Nice. While mom slept. Really nice. NOT!

I am happy to report that the chills and aches are gone and it's only a sore throat and ears that bother me now. Still not sticking to my menu plan, not through today, anyway. But, to quote another strong and whiny woman, "Tomorrow is another day"!

And, yes, I will take a bit of tofu with my whine. Thank you.

post signature

5 comments:

  1. Oh, I'm so sorry you were so sick! And, I never mind being your listening ear. I miss you so very much!! A nice long chat would do wonders right now. Love you so much, glad you are feeling better :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. What an awful day! I'm so sorry. Glad that you are feeling better now.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Find out how 1,000's of people like YOU are working for a LIVING by staying home and are living their dreams TODAY.
    JOIN NOW

    ReplyDelete
  5. Treks Himalaya is indoor outdoor trekking and tours operative company takes you that further way to guarantee you has a memorable trip that you have been dream of your choice. We have your choose of Trekking in Nepal for 3 days or 30 or more days it depending of your timetable. We continually our respect to your Nepal Trekking. Whether you are looking for a quiet gateway, a memorable outing with a family or an exciting nature. We offer you with the best progressive information and itinerary leading focused and modified as per your requirements of Trek in Nepal. We are attempt to encourage to Hiking in Nepal exterior motivated to safe and matured tradition as well as conserve the ambiance for generation. We are specialize in organize Nepal travel activities excursion such as:- Trekking, Helicopter Tour, Peak Climbing, Mountain Flight, Honeymoon Tour, Sightseeing, Rafting, Jungle Safari, Pilgrim’s Tour, Hotel Reservation, Air Ticket, Tibet and Bhutan Tour many more. Typical trekking and hiking as unique combination of natural glory, spectacular trekking trips to hard climbing and trekking most rewarding cultural beautification array to walking, trekking width height of country.
    Annapurna Panorama Trekking , Annapurna Panorama Trek , Annapurna Base Camp Trek , Annapurna Base Camp Trekking , Annapurna Sanctuary Trek , Ghorepani Trekking , Helicopter Tour in Nepal , Nepal Helicopter Tour , Manaslu Trekking , Mardi Himal Trekking , Annapurna Trekking , Everest Trekking , Langtang Trekking
    Nepal trekking tours package
    http://www.trekshimalaya.com
    http://www.trekshimalaya.com/annapurna-panorama-trekking.php
    http://www.trekshimalaya.com/annapurna-base-camp-trekking.php
    http://www.trekshimalaya.com/ghorepani-trekking.php
    http://www.trekshimalaya.com/helicopter-tour-in-nepal.php
    http://www.trekshimalaya.com/manaslu-trekking.php
    http://www.trekshimalaya.com/mardi-himal-trekking.php
    http://www.trekshimalaya.com/annapurna-trekking.php
    http://www.trekshimalaya.com/everest-trekking.php
    http://www.trekshimalaya.com/langtang-trekking.php

    ReplyDelete