Could Life Be Anymore Stressful? (Done in my Chandler voice from Friends)

Trying to keep my flares at bay is not an easy thing when life throws a lot of stress your way.  I'm still trying to deal with the fact that my son is leaving in exactly one month.  I am still very proud of him and wished I had the guts he has when I was his age.

My boys at Shane's 11th Birthday Dinner!

That stress is bad enough, but I'm worried about my cousin who has "Stage  2 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Breast Cancer (that means while the cancer started in a duct, the cancer cells have moved outside the duct-that is what makes it invasive."

My cousin is only a year younger than me, but she is one of the strongest women I know.  She lives quite a distance away from the rest of the family, but has her husband, children, and her brother and sister and their families with her.  I support every decision she makes and I know that her faith will pull her through this.  I believe she will win this war, but it's still hard not to worry about her and what she is going through.  I didn't know how to support her from so far away, and then it hit me.  I bought what I call my "Supporting Lolita" outfit to wear on Fridays, and I got a new tattoo in her honor and for those who have gone through this horrible disease (personally or as a support system).

I also got it for my Grandma Raquel who passed away when I was 18 from complications due to bone cancer.  She was diagnosed when I was 3 and told she had only 6 months to live.  She fought for 15 years because she was determined to see me graduate from high school.  She was bedridden when I graduated, but video cameras had just come out so my parents rented one so they could tape it for her.  She lasted 2 months after my graduation and made me promise I wouldn't get married until I graduated from college.  Her strength was incredible also!

  

My body has been nice to me during this time, but we are also getting ready for the state exam at the end of the month.  I have several students who I worry about.  I have been working with these kids everyday (including Saturdays), and yet nothing seems to be working.  I have seen a few light bulbs come on, but several that remain dim.  I know they can do it, but trying to convince them of that is another story.  I hate this test and I truly don't think it's fair to put this much pressure on an 11 year old.  I also don't think that many of our people in charge (our Governor for example) could pass this test.

Oh,  and to add to the stress, we decided to adopt a puppy yesterday for my youngest son.  A very huge 10 month old puppy who weighs 81 pounds.  He's a Black Lab/Newfoundland mix and is the sweetest dog ever. He is also very active and wants to eat everything in sight.  Our yorkie seems to be okay with him unless he jumps up on one of us and then he goes into overprotective mode.  What Willy doesn't seem to understand is that Dante outweighs him by 70 pounds.  So far Dante just looks at Willy when he tries snapping at him.  Hopefully Willy realizes we're not in danger and just chills out.  Shane loves his new dog, but they are going to doggy school during Spring Break because right now Dante takes Shane for a walk instead of the other way around.

Shane and Dante

Dante and Willy

Stress be damned, I will deal with whatever pain Fibro throws my way and get through the next few months.  I will handle my son leaving, I will continue believing in my cousin, I will get my kids through this stupid test, and I'll make sure Dante doesn't eat Willy.  I pity the flare that tries to get in my way.  Ain't nobody got time for that! :-)

Gentle Hugs,
Bonnie

P.S.  Did you notice I've lost 29 pounds! WooHoo! That has helped with some of my pain, and I have a little more energy.

Trying to keep a flare at bay!

My oldest son informed my husband and I that he is moving out on April 1st, and going to San Francisco to live with a friend from high school and her boyfriend .  Apparently they have a house they share with 2 other people.  He is going to live there rent free until he has a job, and then he will pitch in for utilities.

I knew this day was coming, but I really hoped it would be a couple of more years.  I was a complete basket case when he told us, but I'm doing a little better right now.  Luckily work has kept my mind busy, so I haven't been dwelling on it too much.  I did end up with a major headache, and some of my trigger points are causing some problems.  I'm determined not to stress over this right now so I don't end up in a major flare, but I know come April 1st I'm going to really start stressing about him being gone.

The one good thing about this is, I now know where I'm going to for summer vacation.  I'll have to be there the week of August 11th to celebrate his 20th birthday.  My mother is really stressing about her first grandchild flying the coop.  She's determined that we will be visiting him at least every 2 months.  I guess I'll be taking long weekends off of work every 2 months to see my son. 

Why must they grow up so fast? 

Such a Tease!

Living in a desert the one thing you don't see to often is rain or snow.  This is great for someone who has fibro, but not so great for people who need the rain to help with their crops or for kids who want to play in the snow.  This morning my 10 year old woke up excited because he could see snow falling from his window, so of course he woke me up.  I could've told him already their was precipitation in the air because my body was very achy.

He drags me out of bed so I can see it, and ends up totally bummed because as pretty as it is coming down it, it is not sticking to the ground.  The temperature 40ºF down on the ground.  Both of us are mad at the snow today, although for completely different reasons!

Hope everyone has a warm, dry day!
Gentle Hugs,
Bonnie

Oops!

I woke up yesterday in serious pain.  I had fallen asleep Friday night watching TV and my hubby decided to let me sleep instead of waking me up to go to bed.  He thought he was doing me a favor, but I ended up not taking my meds before bedtime.  When I woke up yesterday, I immediately went to take my morning meds and realized I didn't take my Friday morning pills. Explains the pain!

I guess I was so excited that Friday was our last day of school before Winter Break, taking my meds completely slipped my mind.  I just wanted to get to work and get the day over with as quickly as possible.  Boy am I paying for that now!  I spent all day yesterday hoping the meds would start working, but no such luck.  Today is a little better than yesterday.  I'm hoping by tomorrow the pain will be back into the manageable range.

On the brighter side of things, I have all my Christmas shopping finished.  I did it all online this year. I usually end up waiting until the last minute which causes severe stress and major flares.  This year I finally got smart and realized I could get everything I needed online.  Now I'm just waiting for the last of the packages to arrive.  They are all supposed to be delivered by Tuesday, so I'm not going to stress until Wednesday if they haven't been delivered yet.

Think I'll take a nap now and see if I can get rid of my headache!

Gentle Hugs to All!
Bonnie