Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Wake Me Up When It's Saturday

I am usually proud of the fact that I'm pretty laid back and don't let things stress me out too much. But to say I never stress out would be such a lie. This week, for example, has pushed me nearly to the breaking point. This morning all I wanted to do was crawl back into bed with the covers over my head and cry until I fell asleep. But who has time for such behaviors?

Todd has had a crazy insane travel schedule since the beginning of the year. Every week he's been somewhere other than home. Not the norm for his job which I'm very glad for, but it's made for a less than great January and February.

I've always had admiration and sympathy for single parents, but that admiration and sympathy has grown ten-fold. Both the kids are involved in their school plays, Katie acting in the 8th grade play and Taylor doing stage crew in the high school play. Unfortunately, their practice schedules are not compatible with each other. If it weren't for my friend, Kris, picking up Katie and Shelby (Kris' daughter) on the late nights I think I truly would be insane by now.

So not only am I working all day and then running the kids here or there, Sookie is now sick. Poor baby. She has another fever virus or something. So far they've run blood work and it all came back good except for a high white blood count, but they have no idea why she's running the fever. I'm boiling her chicken and trying to get her to drink water and take pills and watch her every time she goes outside to make sure she's still taking care of her business. Between my worry for her - she hasn't shown much in the way of improvement since Monday - and the thought of whatever tests they're going to run if we have to take her back in that we can't really afford right now, I'm stressed.

Which brings me to last night. Cleaning out the refrigerator, I poured two small containers of old spaghetti noodles down the garbage disposal. All of a sudden gross water started filling up the sink. When I'd try to turn on the disposal it would make a funny noise and water would come back up into the sink. I had all manner of disgusting things sitting out on the counter that I couldn't get rid of because the sink was backed up. I was afraid to run the dishwasher and again, the cost of a plumber made me want to curl up into the fetal position and rock back and forth while gazing without focusing into the corner.

I finally just left it, ignoring the stuff all over the place. I decided I'd go to bed early and work on it in the morning. But Taylor was working on a project and needed my help with the printer so I didn't get to bed as early as I had hoped to.

This morning I called the garbage disposal people and the lady tried to walk me through checking the disposal. She told me to plug up the other side of the sink and plunge the drain slowly. I tried. Disgusting, chunky water splashed up all over me. So it was decided I needed a plumber. I called my neighbor, Laura, to see if she could recommend a plumber and her husband, Bill, answered the phone. He ended up coming down and took the pipes apart.

Guess what we found! Scads of chopped up spaghetti packed in the pipes from the disposal to the elbow. He cleaned them out, put everything back together and voila! I have a working sink again!

Since I didn't have to wait around on a plumber today I was able to make it to my biannual oncology appointment. It was such a nonevent. Blood pressure - good. Blood work - good. Everything else - good. Every time I go I think to myself, "The next time I'll weigh X-amount of pounds lighter." It hasn't come true yet. In fact, I weigh more every single time. That's bad! But nobody there seems to care. They tell me I look great which probably has more to do with the fact I was seriously the only person in there under 80 today.

In the grand scheme of things I don't have much to be stressed out about. But all of it adds up and I think I'm doing fine until just one more thing and then I snap. As of this moment I don't have anywhere I have to go after I get the kids from play practice at 5:30. (One of the only nights they actually had it at the same time). Hopefully Sookie's medicine will start to kick in and she'll show marked improvement by tomorrow. Maybe I'll even get the kitchen cleaned up. And before I know it Saturday will be here and I can sleep in and Todd will be around to help run people to their places and Saturday night we'll go hang out with the neighbors for wine club and all will be right in my world again.

And before somebody asks - no, I haven't been praying for patience. I learned not to do that a LOOOONG time ago. :o)

Labels: medical, Sookie, whiney

Mused by Jenster :: 4:12 PM :: 16 People musing:

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