00:58 - 17.01.08
hiver (en francais = winter)
It took me most of the daylight hours - all 8.5 of them - to figure out I was having an allergic reaction to an ingredient I put in the pot of hot soup yesterday. I'm thinking, from the symptoms, that it was likely the tamarind paste. The preservative in it was citric acid, but it tasted too strong even in the making. Once the deductive reasoning portion for why I was feeling so awful was done, the next step was figuring out what to do with that information. Drink milk - coats the digestive tract; or so say the "old wives". Quite frankly I have a lot of respect for those old crones. They're the ones who tell you to wash your hands, with soap, often and brush your teeth three times a day, at least. Low cost and low maintenance prevention. Not sexy, no drama, can't really patent it and therefore can't make a whole pile of money from following their common sense advice. Hmmm.
While I was trying to decipher the messages my body was howling up at me, I decided that I would take my dream Pavarotti's advice and stair climb to his music. Tummy troubles started easing immediately. Only ten minutes at a time, twice, because I started to get too tired, but at least it was a start. Next up threw on my one yoga video. That's the one where my blood pressure drops about ten points just as the instructor starts to speak. Ujayyi breathing followed by cat and dog asanas, drop me into a deep meditative state. My cats think I'm purring, which pleases them mightily. Of course those show-offs can all do the poses effortlessly and with much greater flexibility, but I do alright myself. I actually was able to manage a full lotus today. Something that I haven't been able to accomplish since that fall I had in the summer of 2003. The one where I tore all the muscles on my left side from knee to shoulder. Finally the left side of the body -locked up at the top of the coccyx since then - finally dropped back into the anatomically correct alignment. Meant I could raise my right knee as though marching, without having to rotate and abduct the thigh first. Also meant tree pose was finally doable without a supporting wall. Ahhh freedom. The release came when I did a warm up that included crow asana - I actually could feel the misaligned vertebrae shift back into place. Mmmmm good.
I had gotten up early with my youngest so that he could make his first dentist appointment. As I suspected, he walked back in the door less than an hour after leaving. The doctor had decided he needed at least a day on antibiotics before it was safe to do the procedure. Diagnosis was that one of his molars was half out of the gum, being displaced by a wisdom tooth. But the breaking of the gum line had caused infection as well. Ramped up the pain factor considerably, as a result. Teething - ain't it grand. Wisdom teeth are the Almighty's way of reminding parents - or their peers - what their babies are experiencing. Uh huh. He's rescheduled to go in for a full extraction next, as well as have some filling repairs. Really glad that he has dental coverage through work. He grabbed his backpack and headed off for work. He had talked things over with his boss and agreed that he would not take today off should the dental procedures take more than a day to address. He'll stay home the day the major work is done.
Number five son dropped by around the dinner hour. He had offered to help out with finances again and had also brought over some Christmas gifts that hadn't made it to me in all the rush of the season. A foot bath - something I've been coveting for a few years - a warm burgundy throw for my bed and some personal embellishments were part of the treasure trove. Best though was just the visit. My guys are so pressed for time it is their most valuable and precious gift. I really appreciate it being spent on me. He wanted to ask some questions about family history and we also chatted about rebuilding confidence in one of the other brothers. That is a family affair after all. Not artificial or manipulative gestures - just a respect and facilitiation of someone else's best qualities. We've all got some of that in us, if only others will give it space to show itself. This is the son who helped take our sick cat to the vet and then helped me retrieve him too. Mr Melchizedek is therefore quite ambivalent about him. He likes the fact that his status in the cat clew grew enormously with the trips to the mysterious "outside", not seen by any of the others except Ms Kitty. Mr Mel doesn't like the memories of what those trips meant though. He approached number five son with respect, affection and apprehension all together, as a result. The proximity of my son became a little overwhelming though, so he climbed up on my lap - the cat, not my son - and wrapped his paws around my neck. Big eyes saying "don't let him take me, mom". I suggested to my son that Mr Mel was grateful of course, but felt he had been honoured enough for any one feline. He left then - my son, not the cat - his girlfriend patiently waiting out in her car, since they had planned to go out for dinner. I guess it was supposed to have been a much shorter visit, so I'm grateful for the patience of both those young adults.
Next up, my second in command from the last election called. Her hubby wants to run for the nomination for one of the federal political parties. I explained my allergic reaction to party politics but allowed that I would help her and her hubby on their own merit where it worked for me - no party support required. She talked a bit about how her family was coping with that one unexpected death about a year ago. Christmas was tough she said. No doubt. Sometimes counting one's blessings is also including what one hasn't had to face, at least not this year. My Mom died a decade ago and that is still challenging enough. Some discussion to catch up on day-to-day family affairs too. I told her about my adventure over the summer with catching that superbug, while being treated for something else. We talked about our children's progress on a variety of fronts. Just mom stuff really. Talked about jobs, or in my case, lack of. This too shall pass, right?
My youngest called not long after, arranging to meet me at the grocery store another hour hence on his way home from work. That store had maybe a dozen people - staff and customers together - in it, so our trip was quick and easy. The managers must realize how broke everyone is after Christmas, those who aren't starvation dieting that is, so the prices were significantly reduced. Even fresh oranges. Yay! I unloaded our groceries and started dinner while my youngest tended to kibble bowls and litter boxes. Laundry and dishes had been dealt with earlier in the day, so the process was pretty quick. Time for bed now so I can try out that pretty new throw on my bed. Good night, dear diary.
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