I'm alive

but just barely.

Also,  I haven't napped all day, so, I think that's good news.

Yesterday, after getting 9 hours of sleep, I came home from church, told the kids not to worry about me for dinner and they were on their own, went to my room to take a 4 hour nap, got up in time to put the kids to bed, watched TV for a couple hours, then got another solid 8 hours of sleep.

That has been pretty typical behavior for the past few days, only I'd watch more TV, or more exactly, fall asleep in front of the TV, and then John would convince me to go upstairs and get in bed and take a real nap for a couple of hours, then I'd get up, say hi to the kids, eat something, thank John for doing EVERYTHING, then get a solid 11 or so hours of sleep.

I want to say it started last Tuesday? or Wednesday? (it's all a blur) My back had been bothering me, but only enough to say "Hey, honey, while you're watching this football game, would you mind rubbing my back, for a little bit?"  but then one day I just bent over to pick up a shoe, and my back cramped or something. The doctor said something about pressure on nerve bundles or something to that effect.

Anyway, it hurt.  Apparently I was whimpering in my sleep. I went to the doctor and got lots of good drugs including a muscle relaxant and some painkillers, all of which had warning labels saying "may cause drowsiness" and so combining them meant I probably spent more time unconscious than I was awake.  I do remember going to lunch with John on Thursday, but that's all I remember of Thursday. 

And then, through the haze of painkillers, I started to notice one of my teeth were killing me. Like I couldn't even eat at all in case something accidentally touched that tooth.  I've been down that road before- I was positive my tooth was infected and needed a root canal. Of course it was Saturday and I had two days to go before a dentist would be open. At least I had some good drugs at my disposal.

So today, I got the root canal and more pain killers.  And antibiotics. There are now six different prescriptions on the counter with my name on them.  I just have a hard time remembering what I took and when.  As long as I remember the antibiotics I think I should be good.

Anyway, I tell you all this not to garner sympathy, but just a little understanding.  I'm not just being lazy. The plan was to take down all the Christmas decorations when the kids went back to school on Thursday.  The kids can help me decorate, but I am the only one to take it all down so it gets put away just the way I like it.   Anyway, the pain in my back made it impossible to bend, or reach, or stretch, or turn my head, or use my right arm, and the drugs made it impossible to stay awake, so my goal of putting away Christmas hasn't exactly happened yet.  I did take down the stockings and the wreaths today, so you know, baby steps. 

So if you stop by my house, and wonder why it looks like mid-December, instead of mid-January around here, that's why.  (and that's also why I haven't been blogging for the last week- thinking hasn't really been on the list of things I can do. Along with driving, or eating, or staying awake for more than 5 minutes in a comfy chair with a heating pad on my back)

But, I'm on the mend. My goal is to put Christmas away by the time John gets back in town, but I also promised John I wouldn't push it, so we'll see how far I get.

And in other news, I might have my Excedrin addiction kicked within the week as well. I can't take that in conjunction with any of my prescription pain meds, so that bottle has sat untouched for several days.  And I just opened one from Costco.  (of course give me a bad night's sleep, a killer headache, and a crazy busy day, and I will most likely once again find myself a slave to those little white pills)