Friday, January 30, 2015

Just When You Thought it Was Safe...

You know… I have been in a super great mood this week.  And I honestly think that it has to do with the fact that I have lost 18 pounds since September. I think it also has to do with the fact that I had an epiphany the other night…. Sleep… sleep makes me happy! And now I know why…

My whole brood has been fighting this nasty ass sinus bug that has been flying around for the last couple of months. I had pneumonia and bronchitis, my daughter had the flu and my 5 year old son had some combination of all three.  Somehow my husband managed to escape the worst of it and I think it had to do with the consumption of beer and wine over the holidays that boosted his immune system or created a shield that the bug couldn't penetrate. Either way we have been sleep deprived for about a month. Both of us dragging around like zombies in a fog. We have tried Mortin PM, Tylenol PM, ZZZQUIL, and even resorted to some prescription cough syrup on nights that congestion was really bad. None of those things really helped the sleep problem. UNTIL…. I had a flashback to my nursing days and remembered that doctors would prescribe elderly patients that had trouble sleeping BENADRYL instead of a narcotic sleep med. This is me usually.... 


BENADRYL…. Where the hell  did I put that last box I bought????

After about 30 minutes of searching I found it… and it was before the expiration date!!!
I tried it one night and slept like a baby… could have been I was completely exhausted so I tried it again… slept great! So I gave some to my husband and he actually slept better than he had in a week. He still woke up but he was able to go back to sleep which is unusual. Now, I know Benadryl only last 4-6 hours so I wasn't worried about the lasting groggy effects.
 
Not only did I sleep good but my head and sinuses were CLEAR when I woke up. And that is RARE!
WOW.
And then I see it… as soon as I find my overnight miracle…

Common OTC Meds linked to Dementia…

First damn med they mention… BENADRYL. Son of a bitch… That medicine has been around for 30 years!!! NOW that I have figured out it will help my shitty sinuses and help me sleep they want to tell me it is going to cause dementia???

Well, aren't we all half  crazy anyway?? Seriously, I feel partially demented on a daily basis just by watching the news and hearing how stupid and crazy the rest of the world is! We all are going to lose our faculties anyway… why should I live with a sinus headache and no sleep in the mean time ?

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Twenty Somethings, Thirty Somethings and the Mid Lifers

As we go through life it is easy to look back and see how we have progressed, matured and changed. We evaluate our successes and failures. I think that is called “learning from experience”.

 We also look at those we love through the same experienced eyes. We see how we have changed versus how they have changed. It can either make us proud or make us take a longer harder look at ourselves.

I see people in their 20’s getting married and I can’t help but scratch my head and wonder how in the hell can they possibly be ready? I was in my 30’s when I got married and I still don’t know how I did it then. Throw some kids in the mix and I just feel like there is no way anyone should get married before they are 30 years old.  Now, there is something to be said for those that married early, had kids early and now they are in their 40s with grown children and the rest of their life free and clear to do as they want. I have a wonderful friend that is in this very situation. After floundering a little and wondering what the hell she was going to do with all her free time she decided to go back to school and get a college degree. Why not? In this “in between time”, after her girls are grown and before she becomes a granny, she has the perfect window of time to travel, educate and enjoy herself. I won’t get that till I am in my late 50’s. God Bless Her. I hope she can take some time and hang out with me when I get there.

I can’t imagine myself if I had done the same things at an earlier age. I have two other friends that find themselves single in their 40’s. One, due to circumstances beyond her control and the other by choice. Both these ladies have blossomed in their single-dom and they should be proud of what they have accomplished because they have risen above their circumstances and have proven to themselves they are survivors and champions!
Only one of my friends is left and she is in the same boat as I am … two kids, home, husband, all star travel sports teams and a life so busy she is lucky she finds time to sleep


We are all “mid lifers” now .Three of my four friends find themselves now in their prime with the time get to know themselves and love who they are. I did that in my late 20’s so I am a bit backwards. In the end it is all about knowing who you are, loving who you are and accepting who you are. The older we get the less we are concerned about fitting in with others and more concerned about those fitting with in with us. That is what makes these four lovely ladies I call my closest friends so very special. Now that we are in our 40’s we know who we are and we can enjoy each other without judgment. We have all known each other for what seems like at least half our lives. We are the advice givers, cheerleaders, shoulders and pillars of strength for each other and for that I am a very blessed.   

Monday, January 26, 2015

The Effects of Kryptonite and the Healing Yellow Sun

It is Monday. End of January 2015.
I haven’t written much since November. Almost a three month hiatus.

And I feel like I am going to explode.

I have been sick, cranky, moody and sad with the brief highlights of happiness thrown in here and there. The holidays were rough and I did my best to trudge through them with as few openly sad and crying moments as possible. The absence of my mother was like walking around with a wet towel over my head making it sometimes hard to breathe without choking on the sadness that was trying to suffocate me. I am now 30 days on the other side of it and I honestly believe if I could see the sun shine for more than a day I would feel so much better.

It has rained and rained and rained…. There are two large ponds of water in the field next to my house. They are so large, and the ground is so saturated that I feel the need to call FEMA and get some flood insurance. I bet it is almost to my knees in some places. If I didn’t know better I would think I was living in rural Washington state.   

We went to the beach week before last and it was AMAZING to get in the sunshine. It was 60 degrees and not a cloud in the sky all day on a Saturday. I cant tell you the good that did for my mental state. The older I get the more I want to be in the warmth of the sun. It is going to be 50 degrees this Saturday and 0% chance of rain… guess where I am headed… that is right. Have to… no question about it.
I feel like being in that blessed sunshine will renew my soul from the dreary existence I have been living for several months. I actually think I am going to take my chair out on the beach… with a blanket (of course!) and let it shine on my face and burn away all the negativity that is hovering around me like a grey cloud. I fight it back every day, and by the grace of God (Bonnie, there is that grace you talk about) it will not consume me.


I now understand what Superman feels like when he is worn down by kryptonite and turns to the warmth and power of the yellow sun to feel alive and 100% again.