~A Bitter Swallow~

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.