Sometimes you spot the good in a situation right off the bat.
Sometimes you gotta look real hard to find it.
Sometimes you begin to foster doubts there is any
good at all.
And more times than not … you have to psych yourself
into believing in the good.
I’ve been doing a lot of psyching the last few weeks.
The psyching has started to pay off 😉
Wednesday, I didn’t need a morning Ibuprofen (I am going to credit the
ginger-water I’ve been drinking for this happy occurrence). There was some
discomfort, but it was not searing pain. I was able to sweep the bedroom floor
without any lip-biting-pain in my hip or lower leg shin bone. I have basically
been living in the bedroom (lying flat on my back in bed most of the day;
getting up periodically to walk around the house to stay flexible) since
this thing with my leg began a month ago; the floor needed sweeping.
After the sweeping, I decided that since I was
not feeling gripping pain, I should walk to the kitchen and try to make up a
batch of homemade Cocoa Mix. Hersey’s cocoa powder is very beneficial
heath-wise: it’s very good for asthmatics, and it reduces inflammation. Cocoa
also aids with better blood flow to the brain to keep it functioning healthily –
while lowering blood pressure; and it levels out cholesterol and blood sugar
levels. Cocoa can also keep the heart healthy, and reduce risk of strokes.
Chocolate has been proven to beat back the
gloomies brought on by dark and dreary days – very important here in the PNW
when gray clouds hang over our heads during the monsoon season.
(https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2019/07/homemade-cocoa-mix.html)
I thought maybe I’d have to mix the homemade
cocoa mix up in staggered moments – but I was able to get it done all in one
fell swoop 😉
Because whatever pain I did experience was tolerable,
I also skipped the afternoon Ibuprofen dosage. I did, however, take 3 Ibuprofen
tablets at bedtime with my cup of cocoa.
Thursday, I woke up pretty good pain-wise. So, I walked 1,000 paces around the
house; watered my houseplants, laid around on the bed lost in a Novel, between periodic
walkabouts throughout the house … and considered walking to the mailbox Friday
afternoon.
Thursday was a tolerable day – I didn’t use
any Ibuprofen at all. I drank
ginger-water and massaged my hip-thigh-calf-shin when they ached … and I had a
pretty easy day 😊
I am thankful for the prayers I know people are
praying for me.
Friday, I took a pretty pain-free shower; drank a cup of lemon-green tea, and
started the laundry – no Ibuprofen. Around noon, I walked to the mailbox fairly
loose and easy … and received the hospital bill. I called the Financial Office
in Vancouver as soon as I got back home.
I had to
drive into town to the Post Office (I rarely mail anything, so I do not keep
stamps on hand), and that concerned me. I hadn’t been using
Ibuprofen since Wednesday evening, and I knew my left leg would be held in a
stationary position during the drive … I would not be able to pull over and
lie down to back the pain down if it started deviling me on the drive into
town.
I was between a rock and a hard place.
I knew Bob had driven with a bad back,
and a hurtful left leg, our entire married life: I married him with the possibility of him ending up in a wheelchair,
hanging over our heads. I let my thoughts dredge up how he handled
driving to and from work every day … how he drove into Longview on shopping
forays … how he drove for those daytrips, mini-vaca’s, extended vaca’s; and
across the USA, from one coast to the other.
If he could do it – so could I.
So, I swallowed 3 Ibuprofen tablets, grabbed my
backpack purse, the key fob, my ginger-water ... and said, “Yeshua, I trust
You: I love You. Be my pilot – get me there and back again without a wreck.
Thank You.”
My leg did cramp up halfway there because I have
not been doing a lot of sitting; and my leg and hip were not used to being in
the position they were forced into on the drive; with a punishing seat-belt
further doing damage to my touchy hip nerve. But I rubbed my lower leg, and
prayed that when I reached the Post Office, I would find a parking spot without
cruising the parking lot for half an hour waiting for a spot to open up. It’s
the Christmas Season – it was gonna be busier than Hell.
Elohim was merciful, and Yeshua favored me: I
got a free spot as close to the Post office as I could – practically at the
door 😊
The line moved quickly (I sent ‘Thank You!’
heavenward, again), and I was in and out in record time.
Back in the Park, I decided to drop off the coke
cans I have had in the backend of the Highlander waiting to be dropped at the
Hospice Can Drop. Bob wasn’t
ever in hospice … but his Dad was; so, I do this to honor him – and to help
other families who will be facing what I have been dealing with for 28 months.
Friday was a very busy day – busier than it has been in a month’s time. But aside from leaning
on Yeshua; I only relied on 3 Ibuprofen, and ginger-water to get me through. I
enjoyed a mug of cocoa with ½ teaspoon of cinnamon powder sprinkled in it at
bedtime.
I slept like a baby.
Today, I was able to sit at the table (a little discomfort, but not enough
to make me stand up again) for a light Supper of Pea Soup and half a Cheese
Sandwich. No Ibuprofen at all.
I spent a couple minutes reflecting on where I was
emotionally, today, last year – I didn’t spend all day dwelling on it, but I
did think on it.
(https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2019/12/in-17-hours15-minutes-everything-ended.html)
I started a new read this morning:
Things seem to be on the upswing.
And I’ve dropped 5 more pounds 😊
If I continue to take it easy, do my sciatica
exercises, and nourish my body with anti-inflammatory foods/beverages … this
thing should stop deviling me.
I have a life
to live: laying on my back staring at the ceiling – or walking grooves in my
flooring is not penciled in long-term.