Well, I said I wanted more time to write ...

Yesterday my back decided to say "Fuck it, I'm done," for no discernible reason.  Seriously - it's disappointing.  This much pain should be from a car accident or an unfortunate attempt to lift a train off of a trapped child or something.  To have it just start for no reason is a let-down.  Sort of like when I had to go to therapy for weeks because I dislocated my kneecap ... by sitting down on the couch.  I got the oddest looks from all of the football-injured and car wreck victims at the PT gym.

Actually, it's just the right side of my lower back that's in spasm, which is involved in a disturbing number of everyday activities.  Like, you know, breathing.  Walking.  Sitting down.  Standing up.  Laying down.  Moving my right leg in any way. Moving my left leg in certain ways.  Coughing ... don't get me started on coughing.  Coughing is dead to me, as is anything that involves me bending forward from the waist.

Doctor Google says rest, ice, heat, and anti-inflammatories are about the only way to fix this, so that's what I'm doing.  Thanks to my boss (who put up with me only recommending yarn to customers if it happened to be at waist level or higher), my family (who turn out to be expert hot-pack microwavers and retrievers of things on the floor), ice packs, heat packs, ibuprofen, Tylenol, and Tylenol PM, I am now able to engage in some everyday activities without crying.   As long as it's above mid-thigh-level, I am all over it.  I even took a shower.  Trying to put on pants afterward was an adventure in swearing, and I gave up and had the kid put on my socks for me, but at least I'm clean.  And yes, I will go to the doctor if it gets worse or doesn't get better.  I'm not a martyr.  I'm just not keen on getting drugs that won't allow me to drive (and might lead me to say things I'll regret when I'm not taking them).

In the meantime, I'm out of commission for a few days, or at least only in commission if it can be done while standing up straight, sitting in a chair with arms, or lying down.  Look for lots of knitting and photo albums to get completed this weekend, I guess!

Totally cheating today

I'm going to try NaBloPoMo again this year, despite November being The Worst Month Ever For Internet Access.  There may be some, ahem, scheduled posts during Thanksgiving week, since the internet connection will be spotty where I'll be.

Dreary and drizzly, today we're on the road to Delaware to help my mom get ready for my dad's memorial service on Saturday.

What, did I forget to mention here that my dad died?  Yeah, so ... that happened September 22nd.  It sucked.  We were able to make things as comfortable and in-line with Dad's wishes as possible, which didn't make the decisions any easier or more fun to deal with.  He's been gone for more than a month and we're still getting blindsided by stuff on a regular basis, because that's how grief works.  Normal, but unpleasant.

We scheduled the memorial service far in advance, and on a weekend, so that as many people as possible would be able to come.

Then there was a Frankenstorm, which screwed up power and transportation on the whole East Coast, so we have no idea how many people will actually be able to attend the service.  If there are only 10 of us there, there's going to be a lot of food left over after the reception.  Cake for everyone!

(Complete side note - when my mother and I were killing time in the hospital during my dad's final illness, somehow the pain scale came up in conversation, and I took great glee in sharing this blog post with my mom: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/02/boyfriend-doesnt-have-ebola-probably.html .  Our particular favorite ratings were,"4:  Huh.  I never knew that about giraffes." vs. "4:  My pain is not fucking around."  Sometimes a good snorting laugh is really, really necessary.)

Anyway, I'm just checking in to let you know that, a) I'm still here, even though I mostly post on Facebook nowadays, and b) I'm going to be here a lot this month, so set your blog readers to check in on me, and guilt me into it if it looks like I'm going to miss a day!

A list

Fun and exciting things I was supposed to be doing tomorrow instead of taking my cat Bella to the vet to start treating her chronic renal failure:

1. Calling contractors to get bids to waterproof my basement
2. Installing another dozen bags of topsoil to improve the drainage away from our foundation
3. Fighting with the postal service web site to print postage for some eBay sales
4. Sweeping up cat litter and mopping up cat pee in our basement
5. Scheduling a carpet cleaning for the whole house (which we've needed since, um, 2008)

Oh, fuck the list.  My favorite cat is sick.  I feel bad because I put off taking her to the vet so long that he described her as "a few days away from 'emaciated,'" (and even I admit that four and a half pounds is a bit of a scary weight for a whole cat) and I'm scared that the treatment for her condition either won't work or will be such a pain to keep up that we'll prove our selfishness and get rid of her because she's become massively inconvenient.  

Let's just look at pics of how awesome she is, and try not to think about how much subcutaneous hydration and phosphorus binders and special diets are going to cost. 

Look!  It's the World's Most Patient Cat!

She lets loud strangers stack things on her!

She wears baby headbands with dignity!

She can sleep anywhere!

But she prefers to do so on my chest if I'm anywhere near horizontal for more than 1.3 seconds!

Get better, Bella-chan.  We love you, and we don't want you to be such a Teeny Zucchini anymore.