No beach vacation this time, but check out that pedicure!
I’m on Spring Break this week. Woo Hoo! Five glorious days away from the routine of school. Five days of relative peace and quiet. Five days without meetings or discipline issues or grading papers. Five days to rest, relax, and recharge. Five days to build up my reserves in order to face the dreaded final push before testing.
I decided that during these five days I would purposefully take care of myself. I would handle the neglected tasks that help me to look and feel my best. I would take care of the business of taking care of me.
Yesterday I started with a haircut. It was long overdue, and I walked out of the salon feeling ten pounds lighter and five years younger. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but I was happy with the cut and I do feel better looking in the mirror.
On my list for the week is an appointment to have routine lab work done (not fun, but vital for my health), a appointment to have my teeth cleaned, and a pedicure. Throw in some time with girlfriends, a movie date with my son, and a day out with my mother and son together, and I have a busy week.
I’m glad the whole week isn’t filled with the chores of life, like taking the dog to the vet and groomers, and getting new tires. Those items are on the docket this week too, but they don’t dominate it, since I have these other things planned.
It’s a full week, but I don’t feel at all stressed. Each day I have one thing planned that will move me closer to the goal of looking and feeling great. What better way to spend a week off than that?
I was ready for a quiet dinner out with my sweetheart. It was to be a simple little Tuesday night date night, precipitated by the request of a realtor to show our home over the typical dinner hour. No problem.
A quick tidy up involving a swiffer and a vacuum was all that was required, and we were ready to head out the door.
That’s when the phone rang. It was my son’s father. My first thought was that we had somehow mixed up schedules and my son was stranded somewhere without a ride. I quickly answered, only to be told that he probably has shingles. Again.
This boy is nearly 16 years old. Last year he was nearly 15 years old. That’s when he got it for the first time. I was stunned. I didn’t think young people, let alone teens, could get it. I thought it was an old person’s disease. I was wrong.
Shingles is ugly. Do not google it. Trust me. His case isn’t nearly as bad as the horror show you’ll see on the internet (thank goodness). That being said, it’s not attractive, and it’s uncomfortable. The good news is, it isn’t contagious. Still, it looks pretty nasty, and people will want to avoid you if they notice it. His outbreak is on his neck, so it’s hard to hide.
Off to urgent care we went, since his dad had to get to work at job number two. Don’t ask. I filled out all the paperwork as we (my ever patient sweetheart and I) waited for them to arrive. After a few wrong turns, they finally showed up, and we did the switch. He was taken right away (since I had already done all the paperwork) and sure enough, the doctor declared it shingles.
They checked his records. Last year he was seen on February 24. Today is February 25. Is this going to be a thing?
The doctor asked if he was taking his state tests in school this week. He finished today. Apparently stress triggers shingles. Although I’m not sure that these tests exactly stress him out. He’s pretty good at tests. At least the standardized type.
Anyway, one dinner and one $97 (with insurance) prescription later, he is back at his dad’s and working on his homework. At least I hope he is. I don’t want to nag him though, it might aggravate his stress.
Tomorrow is February 3. That means that in five months it will be my birthday. The day that will end the 47 for 47 Challenge year. On that day I will have either met my goals or not. I don’t anticipate sitting at the computer on my birthday studying the list, alternately congratulating myself and beating myself up, although I suppose that could happen. Just knowing that the list is there for all to see and wonder at is pretty powerful motivation to get going on some of those items.
The whole reason I began blogging was for me to spout off about how wonderful I am (or not) and how great a job I was doing taking care of myself (or not). Sadly, it’s been more of the not, but happily, the blog has grown beyond that original seed of an idea, so even with my many screw ups there’s still something interesting to read from time to time. There must be. People keep coming back, and new readers find me and follow BulgingButtons every day. How amazing is that?
But I digress. It’s a talent of mine. Not digression per se, but procrastination. I’m taking the long way around telling you that I’m ready to get back up on that horse. I’m ready to eat my fruits and veggies and do my exercise. I’m ready to drink my water and hold myself accountable. I’m ready to try again.
I know, you’ve heard it all before. You are patient, bearing with me all this time. You’ve listened to me wax poetic about delicious meals and sedentary pursuits. You’ve endured my whiny musings on feeling low, sick, discouraged, and frustrated. You’ve nodded politely when I’ve gotten excited about some small victory or another, and through it all you’ve hung in there with me. You are warriors.
You tune in hoping for some news of progress, some positive report from the front line, but I offer you little. A scrap here, a morsel there. Still, you support me. You forgive me my sins. You remind me that I’m only human, after all. You offer your hugs and support and encouragement and laughter. You open your worlds to me, and what do I give you in return?
Hopefully you know that I give you a piece of myself. I write from the heart (how disgustingly cliche, I’m sorry). I don’t sugar coat, and I don’t worry much about hurt feelings. I do, but not in my writing, because I’m generally a pretty open-minded nice person. I’m not likely to say anything cutting or mean, so I don’t worry about censoring myself, after all, I know I’m not going to yell at you. I’m far more likely to yell at me.
I try to give you something to think about, or smile at. I try to stay positive and upbeat and focus on the good things in life. I try to offer my observations and experiences in a way that’s interesting or thought provoking. I’m not trying to tell anyone who to be or what to think, but I’m allowing you all a glimpse of who I am and what I think. That doesn’t sound like a significant contribution to the good of humankind, but right now it’s what I’ve got to offer, take it or leave it.
This was supposed to be the year of loving myself enough to do all that I needed to make my life as wonderful as possible. I’ve done a lot of positive things, but I have so much more to do. It’s a little like getting my house ready to sell. I want to fixate on tiny inconsequential things at the expense of the obvious. In terms of the house it’s simple, CLEAN UP. In terms of my life it’s simple too, LOSE WEIGHT.
I think I can lose 50 pounds in 5 months. That’s sane and safe and would go a long way toward improving my health and life. There, I’ve written it. That makes it real.
I’m cleaning up and resisting the temptation to do silly things like rearrange drawers. I’m also committing to eating better and moving more. That’s about as much as I can handle right now. I did go to the grocery store and purchase some delicious mandarins, salad, yogurt, carrots, hummus, orange juice, and water to wash it all down.
I also purchased some light beer. Hey, it’s the Super Bowl, and the sweetheart is in the kitchen cooking his yearly pot of gourmet chili. I better take my walk before the festivities begin. Besides, the 3rd isn’t until tomorrow.
BulgingButtons 