Bi And Large

Well, sometimes they do. Sometimes they're awfully crabby. But whatevs. I like working with them anyway.

On that line, I have to link you to an amazing video that I am tagging c/o Matt Algren's amazing blog Asterisk, which I have linked to before. It is a speech given by Philip Spooner, an 86 year old lifetime Republican and WWII vet, to a ME senate committee hearing on marriage equality. I would love to embed the video, but this being blogspirit, I can't, so poo. You'll have to follow the link over to youtube if you want to watch it. It's quick I promise - 3 minutes and change - and very moving.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrEbJBFWIPk&feature=pl...

Hope that works! Continuing the overarcing theme of this blog and really of my life: We all, fat or thin, tall or short, rich or poor, gay or straight, whatever color, whatever ability or disability, man or woman, deserve a fair go. Everyone. Period. Well, ok, maybe everyone except stupid people, by which I don't mean those who are naturally slow but those who just choose to act stupid. Those people kind of dig their own hole and deserve to sit in it. But everyone else.

I myself am more or less recovered from my lung diseases. I have a residual cough but I am fine. I did see some data from Australia and NZ (whose flu season was 6 months ago) saying that this flu causes pneumonia in obese people more often than in others, which is odd. I wonder why? Whatever. I'm done.

I had an appointment with an "endocrinologist" at the university a couple of weeks ago, and yes I put the term in quotes. Our U is world class in the medical field, one of the best in the nation, and I had high hopes. I left so devastated I couldn't talk about it, couldn't blog about it. The phrase, "Haven't you ever heard of weight watchers???" was used. I cried. I don't cry very often, except at my poor husband. I did get a laugh the next day when my mom called to ask about it and I told her and started to cry, again, and I wailed that I don't actually eat that much. And she got all upset and she started ranting and came out with, "Honey I have seen you eat, I would stand on a stack on TEN Bibles, on my ONE good foot, and swear to the supreme court that you don't!" Which still puts a smile on my face, it's such a funny mental picture. And when did my mom go from so critical to so supportive? When I had kids? When she got sick? It's such an amazing change.

She's lined up for - wait for it - ANOTHER surgery the week of Thanksgiving. This is a last ditch attempt to save that leg, and it will involve bone grafts from her hips and a couple fusions, if I am not mistaken. If it doesn't work, or if the infections that she has dealt with forEVER now can't be controlled, they will move quickly to just amputate the leg finally. Which on one hand is a pity after all we have gone through to save it! I mean seriously! But on the other a prosthetic leg doesn't require any more surgeries... we would be done at last. We're hoping she and dad will be able to come out and stay for a while before the surgery in cancelled to celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving, and an early Christmas.

The only other thing that's going on? Don't hurt yourself when you fall down laughing now but, this year I have promised myself that I am going to take up cross-country skiing. I still have strong knees and pretty good ankles, it's just my plantar fasciaitis that bothers me when walking because of the impact. And swimming / yoga are GREAT, I love them, but too expensive. God knows we have snow abundantly already here. So I am going to borrow or rent some skis and poles and get someone to teach me, and I am going to do this. If I like it, I might even do a race. I'm really excited :)

So after my last post: Monday I dragged my sorry butt into work. My office manager informed me that she had required a doctors note and my presence because she doubted my illness. Insert angry face here. Apparently he fact that I asked for a day off - to have my boob ultrasounded for cancer - and then called in sick - because I was in the hospital with pneumonia - was considered highly suspicious. Whatever. So I got that cleared up with a letter from my doc. I saw my boss. He registered shock on the site of me, informed me I looked like hell, and said if I could tough it out for a few hours to take the next day off. Which I did, gladly. I stayed in bed all day Tuesday and awoke Wednesday with a cough but feeling, finally, like myself again. I went back to work armed with my inhaler, some hot tea with honey and lots of Vicks, and I did fine.

So what happens Wednesday? Well let me preface this by saying, if I haven't mentioned it here already, that Amy has been tenatively diagnosed with ADD by her pediatrician. We know she shows some traits of it. She is impulsive and can have a lot of trouble controlling her body. But we are waiting to see how this school year plays out for her academically before moving forward with more testing or an official diagnosis. So one of the things that has been very problematic for her this year (at least according to Amy) is staying in the right line at school, or staing with her class. She seems to get 'lost' quite often. Which I am livid about - the kid just turned SIX for crying out loud, if you know she's prone to wandering off, you keep an eye on her. You at least do a head count once in a while. We're having some discussions with the school over this. ANYWAY so today after school, while Pete and I were both at work, apparently Amy got on the wrong bus. She ambled into the wrong line while thinking about something that was distracting her, and ended up taking the bus home instead of the bus to her afterschool care. So at about 2:30 the calls to our cell phones and work started - they've lost Amy. It seems she was dropped off at our neighborhood bus stop and that was that. I am ready to kick people in the throat at this point. I'm NOT, actually, worried about Amy... we live in the safest neighborhood possible for her to be in, and it was a warm and sunny day. She knows everyone there and everyone knows her, someone would see her if she was out and let her in and call me. No one would let Amy go off with anyone unknown, heads pop up all over that neighborhood if so much as an unrecognized car drives through. But I'm a little pissed that the school lost her and I would like to know where my daughter is. After some time, Pete actually found her. At home. He called the house and she answered. Apparently she walked home, found the front door locked, and just went around the back until she found an open door. She let herself in, kicked off her shoes and backpack, grabbed a snack, and curled up with the dog to watch some tv. She wasn't in the least bit worried. We called the school, and they sent the bus back out to pick her up. Which was fine, except that Charlotte (the 150lb normally laid back st bernard) was anxious because she was aware that something was wrong with this picture. She knew Amy being home alone was not right, and she was determined to protect her. So when the bus driver, a darling lady in her mid-60's, came to the door to collect Amy, Charlotte was NOT having it. Lois (the bus driver) and Amy stood on either side of the front door yelling for some time, trying to come to an agreement about how to proceed. Eventually Lois convinced Amy it was OK to open the door, and Charlotte ran out in a ball of bristling muscled fury. God Bless the woman, she managed to wrangle the dog back into the house without hurting herself, get Amy out, and got her onto the bus, and from there to the private school she was supposed to be at. I arrived shortly after to collect both the girls. With a great deal of relief.

Good grief. And people wonder why I don't have the energy to worry about spots on my carpet or weeds in the lawn. I'm full up just trying to keep everyone safe and healthy here.

It's Sunday night, I feel crummy, and I don't relish the thought of waking up and going to work tomorrow. I LOVE my job. I do. But I have been told that I have an over-packed day waiting for me, and I am still woozy and coughing until my chest hurts. Probably no longer contagious, ok. But how annoying to have to spend 45 minutes per appointment in a tiny office with a client, in very close proximity to their body, when you keep going into coughing spasms that don't quit? They are going to think I am giving them the black death. I am going to get all kinds of evil looks and comments, and I don't blame them. I would much rather be curled up in my own bed staying warm with a good book and a mug of tea and honey thankyouverymuch. My rx cough stuff has codeine in it so I'm sure I'm really gonna be in top form tomorrow. Don't worry, it will be counter acted by the adrenaline surge from the albuterol inhaler every 4 hours I'm still on. Ugggggghhhhh.

Wah wah. Whine whine whine. At least I have a job. At least I'm alive. At least I have health care. I know, I know, I know.