~A Bitter Swallow~

I hate having these days; Days filled with feelings of inadequacy and meaninglessness. Is it PMS? Bad medication taking? The grey, dreary weather? All of the above?

Plaster a smile on my face and know that it will pass. It always does. I just wish it would hurry up.

So this past weekend we went to Oregon. "We" being Dustin, the kids, and me. Immediately after work, I drove straight home, and packed enough clothes and accessories for the four of us, then we jumped in the car. After dropping off the dog at my sister's place, and grabbing a quick(ish) bite at Taco Bell, we started our 6-hour drive to Heppner, Oregon. My throat continued to bother me throughout the drive, as did my head, but I was able to pull in some light dozing while my body braced itself through Dustin's driving.. lol.

We pulled into the hotel at 2:30am, and we all dove for the beds. Dustin woke up at the ass-crack of dawn as always, chipper with energy, while the rest of us groaned and pulled the covers further over our heads. He headed to church with his family while the kids and I finished more of our sleep. After church service, he returned, and him and I took a little walk of the town. The town was easily walkable in I'd say, maybe 20 minutes. It's tiny! So cute though.

Dustin's grandparents were not home when we got there. We let ourselves in per their request. They have such a quaint, cozy home. Their wood stove was going when we got there, and the room was nice and toasty. Dustin's mom and her husband showed up soon after us, and then his grandparents shortly thereafter.

We had a nice lunch of veggie spaghetti with vegetarian meatballs, green beans, bread and salad. Even my daughter liked the spaghetti, although my son didn't. On a trip down to the park, my daughter got invited to a bonfire with Dustin's sister and her daughter. They got to go on a hayride and the whole nine-yards. She spent the night there. After she left, Dustin, my son and I went back down to the hotel for a nap, as we were pretty tired still. We went back up for snacks and conversation and left for bed early.

The next morning, Dustin was once again up at the break of dawn, and he went and had breakfast with his family while I waited for my boy to wake up. We finally had to drag him out of bed at 10, so that we could check out of the hotel. More of Dustin's family showed up on Sunday, and I finally got to meet his brother. We had a big lunch of veggie burgers and dogs, with salads, chips, veggies, and pie. It was good, but I'm still not a big proponent of the veggie meats...

We left Oregon at about 3pm on Sunday, and made it back into town at around 8:30. Apparently the dog did good over at my sister's house. Our cat decided she was now queen of the castle, and she's now the boss (as if she didn't act enough that way before). We'll see who wins- her or my daughter.

Things have been hectic lately, with the move, my son's toe (I'll explain that one), work, school, and the move (yes, I know I already said that, but it is a significant portion of the hectic!). All this has caused me to slack a bit in my blogging. Hopefully not too much though. Enough to keep things suspenseful? :)



The move is going well, although there are still a few larger items left at the other house that I would really enjoy having at the new place. My washer and dryer top that list, at the moment. My bed is still over there; my mattress is over at the new one though, so at least I can sleep comfortably. Most of my bookcases - most considerably my large one - is still there, which makes it difficult to unpack those six boxes of books I have over there.



The unpacking is going slow. I just don't know what to do with all the crap I have. And I have a lot of it. Some I will be sorting out and selling on the Internet. Some will be driven down to the Goodwill to compliment my spending down there. The rest will find their spots among the riff and raff of my mismatched furniture and accessories. Shelves have become a fond pal of mine, and my kitchen would benefit from some, if only I would remember to ask Dustin to build me some... lol.





I have been horrible with the upkeep of taking my medication on time. I'm truly pathetic when it comes to memory. At least when dealing with my own stuff. My son's medicine for his foot I remember each and every morning and each and every evening. So does he, and 9.99 times out of 10, he's already taken it by the time I ask. I just wish the same could be said for his homework. I've now moved it to directly in front of my coffee pot, where it will just be pushed aside in my desperate grasping for my first cup of coffee, and thereafter I will tell myself "I'll take it when I eat." Next problem is getting me to actually go make myself something to eat....



As for my son's foot. Sometimes our children do things that we just find utterly flabbergasting. This is one of those instances. Probably his most insane moment yet, at least in my mind. A few weeks ago, he complained of a cut on his foot. I remember him coming down the hallway while I was on my computer talking of it. I asked him if it was a "need to show mom" cut or a little scratch. He said he was fine and it was just a small thing. Well, last Thursday, I was still home when the kids got back from school because I had had a meeting at work earlier in the day, and I go in late on those days to make up for the time. He came into the living room complaining that he wished his foot would "quit doing this, because it's getting really irritating." I look at his foot, still mummified in his sock, and see a pool of seepage coming up through the sock. I told him to take it off and let me see his foot. My gods, I just about had a heart attack when I saw it. I'm not kidding. Half of his toenail was black- vertically moving sideways, not upwards. His skin was sloughing off in layers. There was puss all over, and his toe was bright red. I did learn that this toe- the big toe- is medically termed the "great toe". That's the medical term. I thought it was funny.

I called his doctor's office and confirmed that this was a "take him to the urgent care" issue, and not a "wait and make an appt for later" issue. I took him in, and all the nurses and the doctor were all flabbergasted that he did not show this to me earlier. Apparently he had ripped off a hang nail he had on the side of his toe. Being a boy, jumping in mud puddles, sleeping with the dog who sheds buckets (they were having to pull dog hair out of the wound), not changing his socks, etc.... it got infected. And of course, he "thought it would just go away". It wasn't hurting him unless he touched it, so no big deal, right?

The nurse helped me harass him and tease him for not telling me. He got a lesson in hygiene and how to cut his nails properly. He got taught that if it starts turning red, it's time to show mom. Or someone. And to never ever ever let his penis get like that (he turned beet red.. it was hilarious). After a shot in the butt, and a prescription for antibiotics, Epsom salt and bandages, we were sent home. I got to be an hour late to work, but luckily I had called them prior to hitting the urgent care, so they were well aware of the situation. And it gave us a good story to chat about the rest of the evening.

Today, I am sick. I think. This morning, I had a little bit of time on my hands before coming into work, so since my tummy was feeling a bit blah, I decided to go to Jack In The Box and get a supreme croissant and an orange juice. While drinking the orange juice, I realized I felt a lump in my throat that hurt when I swallowed. No matter what I did, I could not get it to go away. It has gotten progressively worse throughout the day, and I'm starting to believe it is something more than just a piece of egg caught in my throat. Now my tummy is upset more, and my head is starting to thrumb in tune with my throat. And I get to go on a drive down to Oregon this weekend. Pray for me that it gets better, and not worse.


And I think that is it for now.

So, I'm bored, and thought I would check out this site I go to from time to time to get ideas to write from. It's here - http://creativewritingprompts.com/ .

Today's lucky number is number 10. It's idea is to come up with a poem about an object that describes me. What out there is reflective of me?

credit card?
* If you aren't careful with me, you could wind up getting yourself into a lot of trouble?
*I have a tendency to take all your money away from you? (I'm laughing here, now... you should be too...)

blank piece of paper?
*Dull at first glance, but give me a little attention and a beautiful story can emerge?

time?
*I pass fast when you're having fun?
*I take forever when you are waiting on me, and go by fast when you want it to last?"
(Ok, so I actually get ready quite quickly, and the second part of the second one was the same as the first... sue me)

flower?
*I'm pretty, but without the right care will wilt quickly?

hand sanitizer?
*use me too much and I start to cause more harm than good?

yard work?
*alot of work, but worth it in the end?

Alladin's lamp?
rub me the right way, and your wish is my command?


Ok, ok, I'm finished. No poem today, but I got a good laugh at myself. Readers are encouraged to add at their own whim!