Oh Yeah, Baby. I've Had A Week.

This has been one of those weeks, or maybe two weeks, when Life just starts making a clunkety-clunk noise and what started out being a decent road trip grinds to a halt and there you are sitting on the side of the road while the big trucks whizz by and you're a little bit scared to get out of your smoking car in case you make things worse by getting run over.

At least I'm over my bitterness of last Friday's post on the #MeToo movement. Thank you all for your helpful comments. I am now seeing the movement as the first step in a full conversation that will probably go on for quite awhile and everyone will get a turn to speak and it will hopefully move us all ahead in our striving to be mature, good people.

And I was doing very well on my holiday shopping, until suddenly there were a few commitments on the calendar that mean I'm now about as far behind as usual. I refuse to panic, because panic makes me run around holding my head in both hands and speaking in partial sentences that never add up to a complete thought. Instead of panicking, I choose to impulse shop, because giving inappropriate gifts is better than giving nothing at all.

Or is it? Joey wrote a great post on inappropriate gifting, which is here. So far, I haven't acquired any of the items on that list, so I suppose that's something. Although, where DO you buy a dead plant?

Moving right along.

My back was pretty well back to normal after that flight I took, although my right hand was still giving me trouble. Did I mention I smashed two of my fingers in my trip down the stairs? (Probably. Sorry.) Once my back started improving, I went back to my regular schedule which includes my job (using my hand) and housework (which uses my hand) and cooking (which uses my hand) and so on and that was probably not smart because I'm pretty sure I sprained those fingers and the only cure for a sprain is to not use the joint until it stops hurting whenever you use it. According to internet sources. And I use only the best internet sources, so I'm sure it's true.

So I cut back on using that hand as much as I could and it started improving. Aha, I thought. Things are almost back on schedule for a merry Christmas.

And then, out of the wild blue yonder, my mom started having health difficulties again. She is currently in the hospital but doing much better. She had severe vertigo which was probably caused by her chronic ear and sinus issues, aggravated by failing to take a medication which she has deemed "not really necessary." In general, her cognitive and logic skills are failing, and she likes to be independent, so my help is generally not welcome, and every once in awhile we end up in a figurative smoking car by the side of the road, and it's my job to get things sorted out and get back on the road. While Mom sits in the car telling me the same stories over and over and wondering why the car isn't moving.

I do try to be patient. Sometimes it's really hard.

But it helps to talk about it. And try to laugh about it.

Late for everything . . . even sleep. Everything moves so slowly at the hospital, doesn't it? The night my mom went in, it took awhile to do some basic tests and determine that, yes, she would be staying there all night, so I didn't get home until 3 a.m.

And then there's also this, caused by lack of activity during back outage. And probably by eating to make the pain go away. All the pains.

But this is one of the better outcomes. (Did I steal this from one of you? I feel I may have. Well, that just shows how much I liked it when you posted it. Thank you for that.)

 

And this one is just because black cats are awesome. Black kittens may possibly be even MORE awesome, but it's a fleeting moment before they become big cats.

I hope everyone has a smoothly running, maintenance-free weekend. See you Monday. Unless I don't.