It occurred to me today that somewhere along the way I lost my sense of memory.
I blame it on the kids. It takes a lot of brain cells to effectively care for three bugaboos. And in the process of learning love lingos & how to appropriately apply teachable moments...all my memories have been squeezed into the inaccessible abyss of my brain. Shelved & smothered in cob-webs.
Except for my strep-ories.
Every year...like clock work...I get a case of strep throat.
And for some reason I can always remember the particulars.
Like how after two years of praying & innumerable *scheduling* kits...the other kinda test finally yielded two blue lines! Baby number two was on the way! And down I went with strep the same day. I remember being worried it might harm her. It didn't. Funny...I remember that too. *smile*
Then there was the time after the first rains in Tanzania. Boy was I sick. And insanely hot. Curled up in a fetal position on our bed which was strategically situated in the only room with AC. Bet you didn't think we were smart like that, huh? *wink* I was thanking God with what felt like my dying breath we had power that night. I'm not sure how long later...I was reluctantly roused from fevered sleep by a distant...
BANG
THUMP
BANG
THUMP
It annoyed me (okay...I'll admit it...I'm easily annoyed) enough that I finally dragged my hot & bothered bootay downstairs to see what hellion could be causing such a racket. If you've ever lived in Africa you may have already guessed what we learned that first rainy season in bush country. See, in Tanzania the first rains bring the termites. Infestation style. I stumbled downstairs and found Jonathan armed with a flip-flop & drenched in sweat. He was thumping the life out of every ugly bug that had wiggled it's way towards the light. The light inside our home. I helped him shove towels into all the crevices as a deterrent. And then clawed my way back to bed. A bit less annoyed at the noise. Which continued for awhile after my departure. *smile*
That case was followed by a whole year & a half strep-free. I was hoping I'd finally out grown it. Isn't that supposed to happen?
Not with my luck. Last December...the first weeks of ACTH...I felt it come on like the plague. A little scratch in the morning to a raging-so-swollen-it's-a-miracle-I-could-breath-pain-in-the-neck. I cried when the nurse gave the thumbs up two minutes into the ten minute test. It SO figured my baby would be on a immune suppressant drug when I contract stupid strep again! Ugh! I'm happy to say we made it through with only me falling victim. Which is a miracle in it's own rite, when you have three bugaboos.
So when I woke up the other day...surgery day (just 6 months later) with that little scratch in my throat I mentally squabbled with myself...
"Oh no you don't...not today!"
swallow ::tiny ouch::
...a little bit later...
"It can't be...it hasn't been a year yet"
swallow ::not so tiny ouch::
...several crosswords & flipped through magazines after that...
"Seriously?"
swallow ::mondo OUCH::
By the end of the day I KNEW. And there goes another strep-ory for the books. Pop-pop's surgery day.
Makes me wonder which other memory'll be moved to storage in it's place?
Even though my yearly bout with strep always has me feeling like death warmed over for a day or two. It is kinda fun savoring the memories that are not so cob-webby & hard to retrieve.
But no time to linger...
swallow ::ouchy::
I've gotta pop more pills before I lose my Aleve buzz. And if my throat's still sore tomorrow...I'm totally calling the doctor!
I blame it on the kids. It takes a lot of brain cells to effectively care for three bugaboos. And in the process of learning love lingos & how to appropriately apply teachable moments...all my memories have been squeezed into the inaccessible abyss of my brain. Shelved & smothered in cob-webs.
Except for my strep-ories.
Every year...like clock work...I get a case of strep throat.
And for some reason I can always remember the particulars.
Like how after two years of praying & innumerable *scheduling* kits...the other kinda test finally yielded two blue lines! Baby number two was on the way! And down I went with strep the same day. I remember being worried it might harm her. It didn't. Funny...I remember that too. *smile*
Then there was the time after the first rains in Tanzania. Boy was I sick. And insanely hot. Curled up in a fetal position on our bed which was strategically situated in the only room with AC. Bet you didn't think we were smart like that, huh? *wink* I was thanking God with what felt like my dying breath we had power that night. I'm not sure how long later...I was reluctantly roused from fevered sleep by a distant...
BANG
THUMP
BANG
THUMP
It annoyed me (okay...I'll admit it...I'm easily annoyed) enough that I finally dragged my hot & bothered bootay downstairs to see what hellion could be causing such a racket. If you've ever lived in Africa you may have already guessed what we learned that first rainy season in bush country. See, in Tanzania the first rains bring the termites. Infestation style. I stumbled downstairs and found Jonathan armed with a flip-flop & drenched in sweat. He was thumping the life out of every ugly bug that had wiggled it's way towards the light. The light inside our home. I helped him shove towels into all the crevices as a deterrent. And then clawed my way back to bed. A bit less annoyed at the noise. Which continued for awhile after my departure. *smile*
That case was followed by a whole year & a half strep-free. I was hoping I'd finally out grown it. Isn't that supposed to happen?
Not with my luck. Last December...the first weeks of ACTH...I felt it come on like the plague. A little scratch in the morning to a raging-so-swollen-it's-a-miracle-I-could-breath-pain-in-the-neck. I cried when the nurse gave the thumbs up two minutes into the ten minute test. It SO figured my baby would be on a immune suppressant drug when I contract stupid strep again! Ugh! I'm happy to say we made it through with only me falling victim. Which is a miracle in it's own rite, when you have three bugaboos.
So when I woke up the other day...surgery day (just 6 months later) with that little scratch in my throat I mentally squabbled with myself...
"Oh no you don't...not today!"
swallow ::tiny ouch::
...a little bit later...
"It can't be...it hasn't been a year yet"
swallow ::not so tiny ouch::
...several crosswords & flipped through magazines after that...
"Seriously?"
swallow ::mondo OUCH::
By the end of the day I KNEW. And there goes another strep-ory for the books. Pop-pop's surgery day.
Makes me wonder which other memory'll be moved to storage in it's place?
Even though my yearly bout with strep always has me feeling like death warmed over for a day or two. It is kinda fun savoring the memories that are not so cob-webby & hard to retrieve.
But no time to linger...
swallow ::ouchy::
I've gotta pop more pills before I lose my Aleve buzz. And if my throat's still sore tomorrow...I'm totally calling the doctor!
*****
Oh & feel free to share your memory joshers!
Comments
Surgery went really good. He's home already! Limping...but home. He says the pain is actually less intense than before surgery! So I think that equals success!
...danielle
Hope you are feeling better and glag pop pop is doing well.
My memory went out the door when the kids came in. My mom keeps telling me that I am way too young to be forgetting as much as I do though I feel way older than I really am. Actually, I think she is just tired of me calling her early in the morning begging for her to come over because I just remembered I have a doctors appointment in a few hours. Funny though...I never seem to forget about Sophie's numerous doctor appointments she has.
I hope you feel better soon!
(((hugs)))
Elaine
elaine - girl...I'm so with you. I can't remember squat! Isn't it nice having mom just a phone call away?! My mom & I had come to terms with me living on the other side of the world...now we're living in their basement until who knows when! But I need her...and I"m so glad she's here!
...danielle