Thanks for nothing, lungs
I haven't written a new blog entry for a while because I now spend all of my spare time coughing. I caught a cold about a week ago. The cold did not pass Go and did not collect $200. It went straight to my lungs, triggering an epic asthma resurgence. I hadn't had an asthma attack in quite a while so I didn't even have an inhaler (dangerous and stupid, I know). I coughed for about five days and did all I could do to get better - went to bed early, stayed hydrated with lots of water, etc. Finally, on Thursday, I went to the doctor. I tried to get in to see my asthma doctor but couldn't get an appointment. So, I headed to urgent care. I only had to sit in the waiting room for about 20 minutes before a nurse called me in. She took a brief history and then the doctor came in. The doctor, as far as I could tell, was about 14. This is how you know you are getting old.* Seriously, though, I don't think any bartender on the planet would sell her a beer.
I think she was in the exam room for all of 90 seconds. And honestly, that was fine. If she was my regular doctor, I'd be annoyed, but she gave me exactly what I knew I needed, which was a course of steroids (prednisone) and an inhaler. I'm pretty sure that since I didn't come in asking for percocet for my imaginary back injury, my visit didn't send up any red flags. Nobody wants prednisone unless it's absolutely necessary. Ultimately, I was sort of glad that I bypassed my regular asthma doctor because he would have given me quite the lecture on managing my condition better and would have sent me home with an action plan (you know, just doing his job an all).
It's been a few days on the meds and I'm still in rough shape, but I think I'll be back to normal (or something close to it) within a few days. If I had to get sick, I guess it's better that it happened when it did. My daughter and I are boarding a flight to Oklahoma on Saturday. If you think people hate it when other people cough in their vicinity, try coughing on a plane. They'll have you brought up on charges.
The most important thing is that my family has been SO attentive while I've been ill. Every time I turn around, it's "What can we do to help you?" and "Can we get you anything?" and "You just rest." Ha ha! I'll be here all week! Tip your waitress!
Other than the coughing, things have been pretty quiet. For the past few weeks I've been cleaning out our basement. We have all kinds of stuff down there: our own junk, stuff we got when my in-laws passed (such as tools we don't know how to use), and stuff that belongs to the rescue. I just didn't want it to turn into a Hoarders situation. My stepdad sells a lot of memorabilia-type stuff so I checked with him on a couple things I found.
Me: "Hey, I found an old Instamatic Camera in the original box."
Him: "Yeah, everyone had one in the 70's." He rattled off the names of everyone he knew who had one. It reminded me of that scene from Wayne's World where Wayne notes that "Frampton Comes Alive" was issued to every person in America.
Me: "Hey, I found a box of Yahtzee scorecards from 1956." (These came with the house, oddly enough.)
Him: "Yeah, you should just use those to play Yahtzee."
So, I didn't find any hidden treasure in my basement, but it is looking a bit less cluttered down there. I went through some of my mother-in-law's old things (she's been gone ten years now). We have her wallet, her jewelry, some photos albums, and other odds and ends. As I was poking through the box, I found an envelope that was addressed in my handwriting. When P and I were dating, a couple of times I sent her photos (of our trip to Harper's Ferry, our trip to Virginia Beach, etc.) and sent along letters with the photos. I didn't even remember writing them, but I find it so touching that she kept them. She really was a sweet lady. As for the jewelry, I think I'm going to let the kid go through it and see if she wants any of her grandma's things.
From my father-in-law, we mostly have tools. We also inherited two drills from him (which I actually forced myself to learn to use earlier this year). Oh, and we also have my father-in-law himself. He's in an urn and we have never known what to do with it. He didn't have a great relationship with his siblings or even his children, so people weren't exactly lining up to take him home. So, he stays with us for now. He and I did not get along, if I'm being honest, but I also don't want to disrespect his memory. I always try to remember that when I first moved here, he was the first to greet me and give me a hug.
So, that's all the news for now. I'm plugging away at my Christmas shopping. I've switched to a new email address, which is a bigger job than one might think. I also need to start packing for the trip to Oklahoma. I will also need to pack the kid's stuff. I could let her pack her own gear, but I don't really want a repeat of last weekend's "I didn't bring a jacket and I'm wearing flip-flops even though it's 38 degrees" scenario.
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*Another sign of this aging thing? I've had a splinter in my hand since Monday and can't see it well enough to perform surgery on myself.
I think she was in the exam room for all of 90 seconds. And honestly, that was fine. If she was my regular doctor, I'd be annoyed, but she gave me exactly what I knew I needed, which was a course of steroids (prednisone) and an inhaler. I'm pretty sure that since I didn't come in asking for percocet for my imaginary back injury, my visit didn't send up any red flags. Nobody wants prednisone unless it's absolutely necessary. Ultimately, I was sort of glad that I bypassed my regular asthma doctor because he would have given me quite the lecture on managing my condition better and would have sent me home with an action plan (you know, just doing his job an all).
It's been a few days on the meds and I'm still in rough shape, but I think I'll be back to normal (or something close to it) within a few days. If I had to get sick, I guess it's better that it happened when it did. My daughter and I are boarding a flight to Oklahoma on Saturday. If you think people hate it when other people cough in their vicinity, try coughing on a plane. They'll have you brought up on charges.
The most important thing is that my family has been SO attentive while I've been ill. Every time I turn around, it's "What can we do to help you?" and "Can we get you anything?" and "You just rest." Ha ha! I'll be here all week! Tip your waitress!
Other than the coughing, things have been pretty quiet. For the past few weeks I've been cleaning out our basement. We have all kinds of stuff down there: our own junk, stuff we got when my in-laws passed (such as tools we don't know how to use), and stuff that belongs to the rescue. I just didn't want it to turn into a Hoarders situation. My stepdad sells a lot of memorabilia-type stuff so I checked with him on a couple things I found.
Me: "Hey, I found an old Instamatic Camera in the original box."
Him: "Yeah, everyone had one in the 70's." He rattled off the names of everyone he knew who had one. It reminded me of that scene from Wayne's World where Wayne notes that "Frampton Comes Alive" was issued to every person in America.
Me: "Hey, I found a box of Yahtzee scorecards from 1956." (These came with the house, oddly enough.)
Him: "Yeah, you should just use those to play Yahtzee."
So, I didn't find any hidden treasure in my basement, but it is looking a bit less cluttered down there. I went through some of my mother-in-law's old things (she's been gone ten years now). We have her wallet, her jewelry, some photos albums, and other odds and ends. As I was poking through the box, I found an envelope that was addressed in my handwriting. When P and I were dating, a couple of times I sent her photos (of our trip to Harper's Ferry, our trip to Virginia Beach, etc.) and sent along letters with the photos. I didn't even remember writing them, but I find it so touching that she kept them. She really was a sweet lady. As for the jewelry, I think I'm going to let the kid go through it and see if she wants any of her grandma's things.
From my father-in-law, we mostly have tools. We also inherited two drills from him (which I actually forced myself to learn to use earlier this year). Oh, and we also have my father-in-law himself. He's in an urn and we have never known what to do with it. He didn't have a great relationship with his siblings or even his children, so people weren't exactly lining up to take him home. So, he stays with us for now. He and I did not get along, if I'm being honest, but I also don't want to disrespect his memory. I always try to remember that when I first moved here, he was the first to greet me and give me a hug.
So, that's all the news for now. I'm plugging away at my Christmas shopping. I've switched to a new email address, which is a bigger job than one might think. I also need to start packing for the trip to Oklahoma. I will also need to pack the kid's stuff. I could let her pack her own gear, but I don't really want a repeat of last weekend's "I didn't bring a jacket and I'm wearing flip-flops even though it's 38 degrees" scenario.
_________________________________________________
*Another sign of this aging thing? I've had a splinter in my hand since Monday and can't see it well enough to perform surgery on myself.
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| The three of us went to a hockey game last night. This was taken right before she spilled an entire 7-Up on the floor before even taking a sip. Most of it landed on the floor by her dad's feet. As a matter of fact, he's still at the arena. His feet were stuck to the floor so he lives there now. |
Comments
Feel better soon!