Somebody wake me up! No, really! All I want to do is sleep. I don’t know if it’s because I’m tired, if it’s part of the recuperation period, or if it’s avoidance — of work, of dealing with my ailments… of life. Or maybe it’s just to help the time pass. (Perhaps, when I wake up, I’ll be totally mobile again.)
It’s not that I do nothing but sleep. For example, my grandson moved in with us when he turned 18, so I do get up early in the morning to make sure he gets up and off to school. If I’m awake when it’s time to get dinner, I sit on my stool in the kitchen to peel, chop, slice, sauté, or whatever else is needed to create a sumptuous repast.
Anything that absolutely has to get done, gets done. Like whomping up challah, honey cake, soup, tzimmes, and other goodies for Rosh Hashanah this Friday. Deadlines for copy seem to be another matter. I’ve had calls today from two editors (including the wonderful Diabetes Self-Management Web Editor Diane Fennell) asking me where my stuff was. (I’m getting there! I’m getting there!)
Could it have anything to do with doctors? This week, I had a doctor’s appointment in Indianapolis on Monday. I cancelled another doc’s appointment I had in Indy on Tuesday (that would be today). Wednesday, I have to present myself for a bone scan. I don’t believe I have anything on Thursday. Maybe I can make honey cake and chopped liver or something then. Start the soup. Stuff like that. Friday, of course, is to finish up preparations for Rosh Hashanah and attend services. Services again on Saturday and on Sunday. Monday is another bone scan, to tag white cells. Wednesday, it’s back to Indy to the infectious disease doc, who should have the results of the bone scans by then.
Whew! Just putting that on paper makes me tired! It also makes me think, “is it any wonder I’m tired all the time?”
There is some progress, however. I’m off IV antibiotics, so I’m also free of the peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line. In the “it’s the little things that count” department, that means I can now take a shower without putting the plastic sleeve over my arm that ensures the PICC line site stays dry — and that, at the same time, requires (er, make that required) me to bathe and shampoo using only one hand.
Being off the IV antibiotics also means the antibiotic I’m taking for C. diff can work its magic without interference, so those symptoms are abating. It isn’t doing much for my weight loss efforts, since I now feel like eating again, but that’s OK. At least my tummy isn’t cramping any more.
One thing that’s perking me up now is religious school. We have a lot of new children this year — in fact, enrollment has about doubled — so I got the children and the parents together last Sunday morning to get acquainted. The children did aleph-bet yoga, made posters with all of their photos on them, and created Rosh Hashanah cards, while the parents had fruit, bagels, and coffee, and schmoozed. One neat thing was that we have a mama who was diagnosed with celiac disease a couple of years ago, so I keep gluten-free goodies in the kitchen for her. When one of the new moms saw the GF stash, she revealed that she has had celiac for 15 years. While I’m not happy they have celiac, I am delighted that they each have somebody else to share with.
The children energize me. I love hearing the young voices and laughter and watching them grow and learn. We try to have fun while learning. Like, for example, making aleph-bet cookies to help them learn the Hebrew alphabet, and making yarmulkes in addition to learning about them.
It also means staying awake long enough to prepare for class each week. That I think I can do, if it means spending a morning with the children.
