The Silver Lining of Sickness

Pat and the boys left this past Friday for their first-ever, week-long deer hunting trip. This means that I am pretty much on my own this whole entire week. My "girl", as the oldest grandbaby calls her, is the only one here. She's nineteen and in college, so that will tell you just how much she's around.

I have been looking forward to this special treat of a week for over two months. I had a girl's night planned with my two best friends. I was going to hang out with my mom for two days. I was going to shop for the supplies that I need to make my Christmas presents and spend time making them. I was going to enjoy the peace and quiet. As a mother of seven children, quiet is a new found joy since four of them are on their own. This is honestly the first time ever that I have been here with no one to cater to; no one to teach; no one to cook for; no one to pick up after; no one to cart around; no one to butt heads with.

As I mentioned, the guys left on Friday. Fate would have it that I got sick Saturday morning. I knew it was coming on, but I thought it was just your standard cold. No way! I felt so terrible by Saturday night that I was near ready to cancel the girl's night. I decided to wait to see how I felt in the morning after some rest, tea, and remedies. I felt a little better, so I went through with it despite the fact that I had none of the prep work done on the food. The girls didn't mind, and we still had a fine time.

All the way through today, however, I canceled my plans. No hanging out with mom as to not get her sick. No trip to Karmanos for my first ever appointment with the nurse practitioner and maybe a mammogram. No trip to Sandusky for my appointment I made over a month ago with my friend for some alternative therapy in relation to my Meniere's Disease. No trip to the antique mall with my mom. No browsing the cute, little shops in Lexinton with my mom. No overnights at her house or mine. No crazy cleaning and organizing and moving of furniture like I planned. Basically, nothing like I planned.

Then, it took my good friend to point out that there was indeed a blessing in the timing of my illness. I get to be sick by myself with no demands or expectations. I get to lay on the couch and watch movie after movie. I get to soak in the tub for two-and-half hours. I get to read a novel cover to cover without interruption. I get to go to bed and get up when I want. I do not have to do anything for anyone other than myself. For those of you that are mothers you certainly know that this is a RARE treat. It seems a little strange to say, but I am happy I was sick while they were gone, and I got to just be sick. Now, my goal is to be well by Thanksgiving so that my family can still come over for dinner.

Feeling Better

I am happy to be back working at my computer this morning. I still have a cold, but my functioning level has increased. AMEN! I was a bit concerned about how I was going to do everything needed of me today.

There are only three weeks left until our VBS starts, and I am the coordinator. Tonight is our second staff meeting, and I really need to be there. We will be preparing all of the crafts for the kids. It is our plan to have everything cut and ready to go that way we will spend less time preparing the craft and more time working with it and having fun together.

It is amazing how many things go undone and how much more work gets created when mom is not up to snuff for just a few days. I am behind on my Internet duties. I've put off updating the bills. That was honestly a little over due before I got sick. Oh well...at least they are getting paid on time, right? The laundry is calling, and surfaces could use a little attention. Not to mention the garden! We haven't had rain for two days, and I haven't even gotten out there to tend it. Now, it is supposed to rain again tomorrow, so it will likely wait a little longer.

I am excited to see what my garden produces this year. We are only growing a few things with space being so limited. We are in the city with a very small yard. I interpserce the vegetables with the flowers. The perennials are doing so well that there really isn't any room for vegetables anymore. We have lettuce, which doesn't seem to be happy with all the rain. We have tomatoes, which I hope to can for the first time with my youngest son. We have bell peppers and one cucumber plant that seems to have made it.

Next year will be a new approach. I think we will grow our vegetables in containers as opposed to planting them with the flowers. I would really like to grow more, and that seems to be a workable solution. Has anyone had any luck with this approach? I'd love to hear your experiences.

Under the Weather

Being sick is no fun. I can surely attest to that fact! Adrian has had a cold since last week. I caught it on Saturday. By Sunday I was on the couch. Last night was filled with sweating and blowing my nose. The bedding is currently being laundered. There was no way around that one!

Whatever this cold is that's going around. It packs a punch. Typically, I use Cold Reduce, and it works great. Today, I stopped at CVS, and they had them on sale for $2.50, both Cold Reduce and Flu Reduce. I had a $1 coupon, so I stocked up. I got two Flu Reduce and one Cold Reduce, and it only cost me $6.50 for what would normally cost me $30! I was so happy.

Hopefully, I will be back on target here soon. I have been slacking on Entrecard, Social Spark and Pay Per Post. I just don't feel up to sitting here. Pretty pitiful, eh? I can't even sit at the computer in my own home. Time to blow my nose again!