Pain

I'm in a bit of pain these days.

I'm going on a year of blogging--a project I started for the purpose of keeping me honest when it came to writing my mystery novel--and I've got no novel to show for my efforts.

I seem to be dealing with some aging issues that include carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis in my neck, back, and hands, a pinched nerve, and muscular pain in my upper arms that is a result of trying to use my computer too much for work and writing.

I've got some psychological pain from worrying about 1) keeping my job status when I can't work because of the pain, 2) the state of the State of Wisconsin (state union members in the family include a sister, a brother, and my son--and if you don't know what's going on with Wisconsin unions and our governor you are obviously not keeping up with the news!), and 3) a husband who is working too hard and coming home too stressed from an employer that is in no hurry to hire someone to take over one of the two jobs he is doing.

Oh, and did I mention that I tripped over my own two feet, launched myself into the side of my friend Linda's car head first, blackened my eye, and gave myself a dandy case of whiplash and a bum elbow all one week before my play opened for a two week run?

So, I'm existing on pain pills, going through testing procedures to assess the damage of injury and age, not writing or reading because I can't work through the pain sufficiently to concentrate, missing out on my daily workout at the Y and my beloved Yoga classes, not sleeping well because laying down is painful, and generally leading a pretty diminished and boring life.

The upside is that the play is going well (I'll share photos and reviews for my next post), everybody is being super supportive, my job doesn't appear to be in jeopardy, I'm not dying, and I like to think maybe my body is healing a little bit everyday.

The photo at the top was taken opening night of the show--8 days post the pedestrian hits car episode, while the one below was 24 hours post collision. Let me take this moment to thank my dearly departed mother for giving me the genes of good skin and fast healing. I got through opening night on adrenaline and Vicodan, and having just enough of a black eye to make people feel a little sorry for me while not ruining my opening night "glamour" look was a blessing. Face it (pun intended!): When you've been through a week like I had, you take all the blessings you can get.

Amen!