My Week

This week was absolutely exhausting from Sunday through tonight. I think other people can handle these things better, but I'm going through a very long phase of not being able to handle too many activities after work.

We went and visited our friend Holly on Monday night who landed in the hospital after passing out on her doorstep last week. Luckily, someone was right there picking her up for church and she was able to get rushed to the hospital. Her stomach had closed off for a few weeks (not sure how that works) and so her food wasn't going through her system properly. The body just hit the point of not being able to function. Unfortunately, once they started testing her they starting finding evidence of cancer. So, I still have to follow up to find out the latest results.

On Tuesday I came home from a terrible day at the office, bought way too expensive groceries and had a great conversation with Pam even though we had to cut it off too soon. Talking to great friends always makes my day.

On Wednesday I went over to help hold some little baby twins. It was nice to be over there for a few hours and just rock a baby for a while. It kind of provides some stress relief. It was funny, or sobering, for me to try to hold one baby and pick up the other. Wow. Such basic tasks become so difficult when there are two the same age to handle. I guess it's a good reality check for me since I'm always saying that I'd love to have twins someday - mostly for the efficiency of not having to be pregnant too many times.

On Thursday morning I was at work and stopped eating at 10:30 a.m. to prepare for a virtual colonoscopy and a body scan that I was to get on Saturday morning. I had a huge piece of fish and then started drinking liquids. Have you ever noticed that the minute you can't have any food you feel like you have to sample every type of food as if you are never going to be able to have it again? You would think I was moving to some remote place, but no.....just doing a food fast for almost 48 hours.

I had a special meeting in the afternoon that involved telling other people about my skillset and why I would be interested in utilizing a different part of my skills in another location. Nothing more on that, but hopefully it is obvious what that means. I kept getting offered stuff to eat during it and I finally explained the Christmas gift that I bought myself and it required only liquids for a few days. It at least broke the ice a bit.

After the special meeting, I drove up to Pentagon City and went with John over to the DC Harbour to get on one of those dinner boat cruises. He was invited to a company event and so it meant networking and talking to people that we didn't know. This kind of thing lost appeal to me back when I went to a few black tie affairs when I first moved to DC. I don't find joy in sitting around with people I don't know, don't care about and will never see again. I'm not trying to be rude because I honestly think the other people feel the same way. Unless I'm someone with power or with an autograph...it's a waste of both our energies. That being said, we sat and ate with a nice couple that found there way to us. Still not sure if that was planned or not since John is being recruited by this company, but either way it got me through the four hours. Let's just say this - go on dinner cruises with someone you enjoy and for a personal night out. Don't go with a networking event if you are someone that likes to leave parties whenever you have the urge. Once on the boat, there is no getting off the boat until it docks...and it was way to cold to jump out and swim, but I do always have the urge. Also, I deserve a certificate because I drank only water and Sprite despite the wonderful aromas floating around the room.

On Friday, I woke up to a splitting headache and took some medicine. Bad idea. All pills and liquids came back up and I spent quite a while worshipping the porcelain throne in a different way than I had expected to this weekend. So much for getting any work done. I slept and drank liquids the rest of the day until I got a phone call about my Mom being taken in an ambulance to the hospital. Since my parents work at the temple in Columbus...they were away from home and we weren't sure what hospital they were at. It was the second shocking health moment (first being Holly's experience) this week and it really made me want to get to my body scan to make sure I was taking care of myself. They released her today thank goodness after multiple tests and good results. Perhaps it was stress and being worn out from everything over the holidays. Either way, it was a wake up call for us all - a reminder to always stay in contact with those you love.

This morning I had my physical and colonoscopy. Whew! Let's just say the body scan was a breeze, but for the virtual colonoscopy they still have to pump some air into you to get a good picture. They had to try a couple of times to pump more air into me which is slightly uncomfortable. Ok, very uncomfortable! I was glad when that was over and I could get to a private place to get it out of me. Haaa. I will leave it at that!

I was able to sit down with the doctor onsite and he did a preliminary analysis. I've got some things I've got to check on which fit right into some of the symptoms I've been feeling. This will just give me more ammunition to take to the doctors because they rarely act as if I'm serious about these things.

It's been an exhausting week. It doesn't sound that way when I write it down, but it doesn't show all the early mornings at work, the meetings, the issues that had to be resolved, the personal anxieties, etc.

Tonight I've finally gotten to sending out some email cards and creating some JibJab videos for the kids I teach on Sunday. I haven't even started on Christmas cards, Christmas emails or half the Christmas gifts I intended to send. So, I will improvise when the time is right.

It sounds like I'm just another person trying to get through December - doing the work I get paid for, taking care of personal needs and somehow trying to help a few people along the way.

Maybe all of us should just sit back and think a little more about the season and stop creating so many expectations for ourselves, family and friends.

P.S. Maybe I should have put this entry in my journal. It's a little long and a travel log...with no travel.