Moany Mary

Even though she spent the whole time in a wheelchair, the shopping day must have worn Mary out pretty well because she slept till 2:30 in the afternoon the next day!

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I have been trying to write this entry for days now! I don't know where this week went. Mary moaned through most of it--nearly driving me to the edge. Jo gets a good laugh out of us because I'll say, "Mary, cut it out!" and she'll answer, "Shut up?" and I'll say, "Yes!" She'll be quiet for half a minute and then start in with the moaning again. She's so good-natured about it, but that doesn't make it any better. Sometimes I tell her she's driving me crazy and she says she can't help it. However, as funny or annoying as it can be, it is often a sign that something is wrong, so it worries me. Moaning during the day or night could mean that she has to use the potty, but it may also mean that she doesn't feel well. I think sometimes she can't explain what's wrong or maybe isn't even fully aware that something is wrong.

I went out with J again on Monday evening and I think it's safe to say that we both like each other a lot. He wrote me a very sweet email a couple of days later and I responded very seriously--trying to follow Dr R's advice about telling him what I want--and I think I may have scared him off. Only time will tell I guess. It's funny to be in love at an older age. Rather nice. I still have the butterflies but I can enjoy them more. I don't know if it's just that I have more self-confidence or that I have a better perspective (ie, more patience and maturity).

We stopped in to see my brother who was sick and I think I've caught what he had. I'm so mad! I was just getting over the other cold and now I've got a sore throat and feel yucky again. I slept a lot today and have been doing sinus irrigation, Airborne, peppermint oil under the nose, lots of fluids, eating lots of garlic and jalapeños, Mucinex... anything I can think of, obviously! I want to get over this and get on with my life finally!

I went to a podiatrist on Thursday since my hips are still hurting, to see if he could help me. I'm going to see about getting orthodics and see if it helps my hips. Maybe there's something about how I'm walking that's irritating them. My lower back seems to be doing better since I'm not lifting Mary. Or maybe it was Dr D's orthopedic adjustment the other day. In any case, he said he'd work on me again if the problem wasn't fixed with that one treatment, so I definitely intend to take him up on his offer! I just can't believe that the pain I'm feeling is arthritis. I think it would be different. But, then, the fact that I also have the pain in my hands does make it seem suspiciously like arthritis--which does run in the family.

Mary is getting better every day and I'm so relieved! How nice that she can hold her cup of water to take her pills without spilling it and without a straw (to insure that she drinks faster--it really does work, especially with those big fat McDonald's straws), or that I don't have to put her coffee in the travel mug--although she did spill her coffee all over my portable CD player the other day and now it doesn't work anymore. What a pity! It was so great to be able to have her listen to Christmas music on the radio all day. Maybe I can run out and get one tomorrow. It's wonderful, too, that she can walk around more. I don't have to push her everywhere. I've changed my tactic on getting her to not shake. I've been telling her that her shaking comes from tension and being scared, so she needs to take deep, relaxing breaths to stay calm. It seems to be working very well--yeah! She's also back to eating better. It really warms my heart to see her devour my Springerle :-)