In fourteen days we are moving. That may sound like we still have a lot of time remaining. But in reality if I say two weeks- it sounds so much closer.
TWO WEEKS!
We are on the cusp of moving that I can taste the chorine in the pool already. Our current home is filled with boxes littered everywhere. Not to mention that we still pack a half dozen every day. It feels like it will never end and we will not be ready for the last day.
In the midst of all of this, my wife and I still have to work and the kids still have school. Plus we have all the other appointments added in to contend with- such as lawyers and doctors, etc.
Once in a while my middle wants to have a day with me. We have dubbed it “Daddy/Darwin Day”. Usually it’s me taking her out for a lunch or coffee and we talk. Today was a spontaneous “Daddy/Darwin Day” that we both needed.
We started with returning the recycling to get a bit of money back and clean out prior to our move. $12.10 is all we received, but no big deal- we didn’t have much to return. Then we went for gas and into town to hit up Indigo Books. It’s a favorite of our two daughters to go to a bookstore when they need an emotional “pick-me-up“.
Our little world at home has been having a couple road bumps, so it was nice that she asked me to go out with her. In fact, she paid for our Frappuccinos later in the afternoon. That was a lovely treat.
We had good heart to heart bantering. As well, she asked cryptic questions that I answered, but knew she was trying to get somewhere… without getting there directly.
She even tried to drive the Honda Element down the block to our house. This was a good milestone achievement as the vehicle is manual transmission and this was her first time driving a car with a clutch. Not too shabby.
I enjoyed our time together and wish to have more days like this.
Yesterday afternoon I went to my doctor to get a diagnosis on what I assumed to be My Kidneys. Turns out it wasn’t my kidneys but rather it was flank pain. A muscle that I have never experienced pain in before.
I’ve suffered from lower back pain most of my adult life. It just happens because I’m tall. But that flank pain- wowsers that one sucks. My doctor actually prescribed me muscle relaxers- which I’m not thrilled about and have only been given ten pills. I’m to take them before bed as the can make me drowsy and nauseous. Not a good idea for taking before work.
That’s good news about my kidneys. At least I have that going for me. Back pain and muscle pain is just par for the course these days I guess. However… my doctor is wanting to look into something a bit more important…
I casually mentioned a concern about my heart skipping a beat on a daily basis for a year now. I told him how I quit drinking last August because I thought that was contributing to it. He did not seem thrilled with me. Yeah, I guess heart issues should raise an alarm instead of just ignoring it.
In two weeks time I will be back at the doctor’s office to get connected to a holter heart monitor for 24 hour surveillance. After which the information will go to a cardiologist. And if my heart doesn’t skip a beat during that 24 hours, we will do it again until it does.
I trust our family doctor and he has been really good to us for many years now. He is very organized and has all of our medical history brought up on his computer prior to the start of our appointments. As well, if an appointment is for a specific time, he generally sees us within ten minutes of the appointment. None of that waiting room anxiety or delays.
Perhaps I should’ve seen him sooner about my heart. But the fears that it really could be something has outweighed my desire to find out. Time to move forward on my health since I’m only in my mid-forties and should take it a bit more seriously.
All night last night I was uncomfortable. My body is being mean to me. Right before work I had sharp jabbing pains in what I assume to be my kidneys. Dr. Google is not my friend when I look up what could be causing my pain.
I did however take the remedy plan of drinking Cranberry Juice. I drank about a liter of that and a liter of water. Hydration is not an issue, nor was the expulsion of said liquids. That’s good.
But the pain subsides and flares up randomly. I don’t like that. There are times when it hits me and I’m like, “that’s kind of uncomfortable” and other times when I’m thinking, “oh god make it stop, put me out of my misery!” Those ones are almost debilitating, where I just stand still waiting for the moment to pass.
Before you give me grief, yes I am going to try and see my doctor or at least get a consult. I’m also really tired and just want to go to bed- so I will be doing that first. Hopefully sleep will relax me.
It’s been a few years but I finally got to have one of my favorite “Firsties” this morning. It may not seem like much, but it is one of my most anticipated experiences. I rarely get to enjoy it because other members of my family get to it before I do. They probably don’t realize how much I enjoy these moments.
I’m talking about a fresh jar of peanut butter.
To me, there’s something beautiful and magical about being the first to open a jar of peanut butter. We buy Kraft smooth peanut butter and always have. What I enjoy is unscrewing the lid and seeing that the foil seal is still pristine. A quick tug of the tab and the smooth brown spread is exposed to the air and a waft of peanuty goodness comes out.
The untouched butter taunts me awaiting the first scoop. A knife or spoon- doesn’t matter; all that matters is taking that first swipe. The cut that drives into a perfectly flat crown. The utensil slides down deep followed by a twist and out comes the first taste.
That first taste is the greatest. It’s as if the peanut butter has a chemical reaction with the air as it is exposed for the first time since the factory. I get a little greedy and spread extra on my toast. But hey, these moments are few and far between. Why not spoil myself just this once?
Do you have the same experience with a fresh jar of peanut butter? Or do you find a similar joy with another food?
Making It Up As I Go 