Archives for September 2005

is my son, C. Riley. This morning I asked him to shut two doors I had left open on a cupboard in the living room.

He obeyed then whined, “But Mom, I hate it when you treat me like an orphan.”

Does anyone know how to make gruel?

Dear Friends,

Have you ever had an unsightly protrusion on your lip, something so large and hideous, rather like an infected pepperoni falling off your face, that you have seriously considered converting to Islam just so you can wear the burkha? I know this pain full well. Mind you I never did until I got married and my very cold sore prone husband transferred the virus to me and never had another for 10 years! I took up the herpes torch and baby, I got burned.

Now, I was no stranger to canker sores, which as they so openly state are sore, but they are hidden. It is one thing to need to lay off the chow because you can’t chew and it is another thing entirely to cause others to lose their appetites as the very sight of you immediately induces stomach pain.

For the longest time I swore by L-lysine, an amino acid in capsule, not tablet form. At the first awareness of your lip (If you suffer you know what I mean.) if you take several capsules you can sometimes avoid the cold sore. If you take one capsule several times a week you can avoid them all together. I don’t always remember to take them preventatively and there have been occasions where the cold sore still blooms despite my slamming capsule after capsule. Yesterday this was the scenario. I probably needed to take one an hour but after a couple doses I forgot and took a nap. I awoke in two zip codes. Terrible. I knew I needed to get the big guns.

Last month I felt one coming on and immediately hit the L-lysine. My friend Margaret was here and felt the beginnings of one too. She applied Abreva. Mine got a little red but hers didn’t form at all. This is a woman who is so frugal she buys clothing by the pound at thrift stores and looks very schnazzy, I will add. “You pay a ton, but it’s worth it.”

I remembered this as I read, “$13.68” on a teeny tiny box at Meijer and screwed my courage to the sticking point. Paul (just like Macbeth) chickened out and started fondling a box that was half the price. This man can be surprisingly miserly. You would think, having giving me this terrible plague, he would be hanging his head and saying sweetly, “Yes Pretty, anything to ease your suffering, Pretty. May I rub your feet?” He continued to read aloud the merits of the cheaper brand. I just grabbed the Abreva and headed for the register. As those of us in the know, know seconds count.

My physical pain was alleviated immediately. My psychic pain took about an hour. Because it had gotten so bad it hasn’t been the absolute miracle it might have, but I am very pleased.

I will strive to take the L-lysine regularly but it is a comfort to know I now have two swords in the arsenal.

I just hope this helps someone else.

For those in the audience as yet unmarried, cold sore prone-edness is something to run from like the plague it is.

(Don’t tell Paul.)

has closed it’s doors.

We have desks (the kids anyway). We have chairs (me too!) We nolonger have a pool table smack dab in the middle of our work space. Yea! Beanie even has a new table and chairs just her size that is her desk with an extra chair for a friend. She was all over that. Birdie tried to sit down and was quickly informed she is not a “fren” but a “stistah”. Birdie reasoned, “Sweetheart, I am your sister, but I can be your friend too” to no avail. Beanie runs a tight ship.

Her little corner is stocked with her dollhouse, blocks, Tinker Toys (on loan from her father), minature record player, mini cash register and a stack of puzzles. We are going to move up some books tomorrow and she will be set.

I am getting a handle on educating my kids: trusting God, taking it one day at a time, creating a clean and orderly environment in which to work and drinking lots of…water.

When we were in the research phase of homeschool I asked my doctor what he thought. Three of his kids homeschooled all the way through high school and one went to Christian junior high and high school. Homeschool is not his religion. I told him why we were considering it and asked what he thought. He said our reasons were sound and really encouraged me to keep praying and only do it if both Paul and I were in agreement.

I was back in the office several weeks ago and after our medical business was wrapped up and we were saying good-bye he asked the kids if they were ready to head back to school. “Actually we decided to homeschool.” I said.

He looked me right in the eye and said very soberly, “You’re going to do great. You are energetic and very organized.”

I started to tell him that was crazy talk and then stopped and just let his words pour over me like an annointing.

And then very very quietly I said “Thank you.”

You know when it feels like someone read your spirit and then says the one thing you need to hear but don’t even really believe?

I love when God speaks through his people and then puts his hand on my mouth so I will hear it.

Last year when we moved to a home that required cable to get any reception on TV, I made the request that we not get it. Last summer I spent a lot of time preparing our former home for sale and then packing it up, Paul spent a lot of time in other countries and the kids spent a lot of time in front of the television where they were safe, if indolent. By September I had three junkies. Paul, after some cajoling, agreed. We have been without TV for a year. Although I really haven’t missed it, I have realized I need a contingency plan for national or international disasters just as Paul has one for NCAA Basketball.

I knew Hurricane Katrina was coming. We prayed about it in church the Sunday before it hit, but I couldn’t really wrap my brain around category 5.

Afterwards I knew there was devastation. I knew people were being evacuated and holing up in the Super Dome. I pictured a really big flood.

Wednesday I ran errands and listened to NPR. This helped me grasp how catastrophic it was, but not fully. I almost called my friend in Evanston to ask her to TiVo the news for me.

We were at her house Thursday night. Her office had been wild because she works for a utility company and they were desperately trying to get their systems working again. After the kids were in bed I told her I really needed to watch the news.

Hours passed and I finally understood.

Unbelievable. Mind bogglingly unbelievable.

It makes my heart and brain hurt.

I can only imagine the exhaustion, frustration and hopelessness so many people are feeling.

I am praying more fervently and listening for what God is asking me to do.

I wish I had known what was going on sooner. I don’t want to hook up the TV but I am going to make it a priority to stay current through other media and go to a friend’s if necessary when there is a situation I need to see to believe.

Awoke before 4. Not worried, happy actually, house cleanish, laundry caught upish, what is the dealy-o?

There is a beauty in blogging; it can be a place to articulate one’s thoughts and also provide a public service. “Can be” is the key.

Some of you may don today’s title as your own sobriquet. But there are some who have not been blogging daily and cannot call themselves the Insomniac’s friend. Those who can (Karen, by the skin of your teeth, you
Lucky Girl) wear it proudly for you are good and kindly people. Those who cannot (I won’t name names beacause I am a kind lady and YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) just hang your heads in shame today and then knock out a post. Quality is not to be considered.

Thank you.

…………………………….

I am leaving shortly for Chicago “all family of us” as Birdie once said. We contemplated leaving Beanie with a Grandma but Millenium Park is on the itinerary and we thought it would be wrong to visit a giant bean sculpture and not have our Bean in tow. We are staying with a friend who lives in the 21st century. I might be able to post a picture of it.

Today we are going to the Museum of Science and Industry. There is a, reportedly, amazing exhibit on the Human Body. This morning I was wondering if Birdie will be able to look at it. I think I am going to encourage her to try. C. Riley will be mesmerized.

The Aquarium is also on the agenda and that is enough for this visit. Well, there is always IKEA. We need school desks or tables. I refuse to hold Hobo School one more day. It is nice to recline on the floor for reading but sitting in the box car and trying to write is a pain.