Sunday, February 7, 2010
STILL TRYING TO MAKE LEMONADE
Here I am, three and a half weeks into my bout with sciatica, and no better. I managed to make it to my Quilting convention that I wanted so badly to attend in spite of my "handicap", but upon getting back home, things seemed to have gone from bad to worse. Where I could at least sit for a reasonable time before, now I can't sit, stand or walk. The only time the pain is manageable is when I'm lying on my left side. When I wake up in the morning, I feel good...nothing hurts. So I stay in bed as long as I can before I start to feel guilty (or have to pee), and the minute my feet touch the floor, the pain begins. My days are spent lying on my living room couch, watching HGTV and wishing I had the money to pull off a fabulous home makeover like I'm seeing on TV, and entering their fabulous home giveaway contest every day.
My wonderful hubby is waiting on me hand and foot, and trying his best to keep up with the many chores that I can no longer do. Since I have been retired for 6 years, he was used to me pretty much doing everything because he was still working. But since he lost his job in October, he's picked up a few of the chores, but nothing like what he's being called upon to do now. This man, who has gone his whole life having never changed a diaper, is now cleaning litter boxes (plural) every day, and most days cleaning up cat poop from the floor, where our youngest cat seems compelled to go in front of the litter box instead of in it. He is feeding 4 cats twice a day, in addition to feeding me all my meals. He is running all the errands, getting groceries, and for the first time, he's made the acquaintance of our washer and dryer, doing 4 loads of wash and 5 loads of drying, as well as folding and putting away, every Thursday. He says it seems like he just finished doing it and its time to do it again. That's how I've always felt about it too.
I suppose I should be enjoying having nothing to do, but I surely am not. I'd give anything to be able to clean all the places he's missed, that I can't comment on because I'm grateful he's trying to do it. But I find it amazing how different a man's idea of domestic chores are compared to a womans'...or at least this man & woman. Cleaning our master bathroom means vacuuming, mopping the tile floor, and cleaning around the cat dishes. It apparently doesn't include cleaning the toilet or the vanity, sinks and mirrors. But at least the floor got clean. Maybe I can clean toilets from a wheelchair...I haven't tried that yet, and I do have a wheelchair, which I often have to use just to go down the hall to the bathroom, because walking is so painful.
So things are piling up in spite of his trying. As it has always been with us, if I'm unable to pull my weight, only the barest minimum gets done until I'm back to full speed. I suspect I'm getting a lot more help than most women would get in my position. As I write this, he is off to the drug store to purchase hair color that's on sale for me, and to the grocery store for the next few days food. I am conflicted because I know how lucky I am to have someone who tries as hard as he does, but I do so need to have the whole house cleaned and all the stuff that's driving me crazy done. I guess that's incentive to try to get better as fast as I can. I really don't need an incentive though, as the pain does that quite well. So I have an appointment...the soonest one I could get, for Feb 12th to see an orthopedic specialist to determine what has caused this and just how serious it might be. The most usual suspects are herniated discs. Hopefully he can do something for me to help speed along my recovery. Spring is coming in California. February is one of our prettiest months, with many flowering trees in bloom, bulb plants in flowers and mild weather. I've been outside once in two weeks, and nearly missed the hyacinths in bloom. There is so much weeding and trimming that needs to be done in my garden that it's mind boggling. Everytime I look outside I see something else that needs doing. Our 6 ft high Austrailian tree ferns have died because no one took the frost covers off them after the coldest weather was over. If I'm not on top of things, this is what happens. It's not his fault, he just doesn't see or think of these things. In other words, he's a man, and men just don't get it, even the best of them.
I need to be able to at least sit and stand. I can deal with not walking, but I need the rest of it back, sooner rather than later. There is so much I need to take care of, so much to do. Meanwhile, I'm not out of lemons, but I'm sick to death of lemonade!
My wonderful hubby is waiting on me hand and foot, and trying his best to keep up with the many chores that I can no longer do. Since I have been retired for 6 years, he was used to me pretty much doing everything because he was still working. But since he lost his job in October, he's picked up a few of the chores, but nothing like what he's being called upon to do now. This man, who has gone his whole life having never changed a diaper, is now cleaning litter boxes (plural) every day, and most days cleaning up cat poop from the floor, where our youngest cat seems compelled to go in front of the litter box instead of in it. He is feeding 4 cats twice a day, in addition to feeding me all my meals. He is running all the errands, getting groceries, and for the first time, he's made the acquaintance of our washer and dryer, doing 4 loads of wash and 5 loads of drying, as well as folding and putting away, every Thursday. He says it seems like he just finished doing it and its time to do it again. That's how I've always felt about it too.
I suppose I should be enjoying having nothing to do, but I surely am not. I'd give anything to be able to clean all the places he's missed, that I can't comment on because I'm grateful he's trying to do it. But I find it amazing how different a man's idea of domestic chores are compared to a womans'...or at least this man & woman. Cleaning our master bathroom means vacuuming, mopping the tile floor, and cleaning around the cat dishes. It apparently doesn't include cleaning the toilet or the vanity, sinks and mirrors. But at least the floor got clean. Maybe I can clean toilets from a wheelchair...I haven't tried that yet, and I do have a wheelchair, which I often have to use just to go down the hall to the bathroom, because walking is so painful.
So things are piling up in spite of his trying. As it has always been with us, if I'm unable to pull my weight, only the barest minimum gets done until I'm back to full speed. I suspect I'm getting a lot more help than most women would get in my position. As I write this, he is off to the drug store to purchase hair color that's on sale for me, and to the grocery store for the next few days food. I am conflicted because I know how lucky I am to have someone who tries as hard as he does, but I do so need to have the whole house cleaned and all the stuff that's driving me crazy done. I guess that's incentive to try to get better as fast as I can. I really don't need an incentive though, as the pain does that quite well. So I have an appointment...the soonest one I could get, for Feb 12th to see an orthopedic specialist to determine what has caused this and just how serious it might be. The most usual suspects are herniated discs. Hopefully he can do something for me to help speed along my recovery. Spring is coming in California. February is one of our prettiest months, with many flowering trees in bloom, bulb plants in flowers and mild weather. I've been outside once in two weeks, and nearly missed the hyacinths in bloom. There is so much weeding and trimming that needs to be done in my garden that it's mind boggling. Everytime I look outside I see something else that needs doing. Our 6 ft high Austrailian tree ferns have died because no one took the frost covers off them after the coldest weather was over. If I'm not on top of things, this is what happens. It's not his fault, he just doesn't see or think of these things. In other words, he's a man, and men just don't get it, even the best of them.
I need to be able to at least sit and stand. I can deal with not walking, but I need the rest of it back, sooner rather than later. There is so much I need to take care of, so much to do. Meanwhile, I'm not out of lemons, but I'm sick to death of lemonade!
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