House of Aches and Pains
Yesterday morning I woke up and felt fine, if a little tired. At lunch time I took the dog for a walk and realized I had a bit of a headache. That’s not much of an observation for me. I have a headache pretty much every day, I just ignore them because they aren’t all that bad. I think it’s hereditary because my grandmother on my dad’s side was the same way.
It was a beautiful day with clear blue skies in that shade of blue that you only see in winter, and the temperatures weren’t awful. When I came back, the girls and George were just finishing lunch so I told them that I would give Breanna a nap and then we would go outside to play in the snow.
It never happened. By the time Breanna went to sleep my head hurt so badly that I felt like the back of my skull was going to shoot straight off my head. I tried to sleep with her but I could only close my eyes - there was actually too much pain for sleeping. After she got up, I went back to bed until I finally picked up the phone and used the intercom to call George in the living room - because I couldn’t even will myself out of bed - to ask him if he could please go get some Advil at the store since I had taken the last two a few days earlier (for carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms - getting older totally rocks).
He did and I took two of them, then passed out for a couple of hours. Miraculously, the pain had dwindled down and thank GOD for that because I honestly started to wonder if there was something wrong what with the amount of pain. Have you ever had a headache that is so bad that you start to wonder what it might be like if it just never goes away, and how long you could last before you’d throw yourself in front of a bus? That was me on Saturday afternoon.
I took another dose every four hours until bedtime and managed to feel much better by evening. I took the dog out after supper and was shocked by the brilliant full moon in a cloudless sky. I actually felt well enough that I ran back upstairs to grab my camera, the monster lens (70-300mm), and my tripod. I’m pretty thrilled with the results.
Since I was already outside anyway, I walked down to the corner and played with long exposures to capture light trails.
And I had some fun with the traffic light, making it an impossible light altogether.
After the kids went to bed, I managed to stay up to watch “Ghost Town” with George. I had never even heard of it before but what a great feel-good movie! I highly recommend it.
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Tonight I am grateful to not have a headache because in between writing this up, I’m also watching the Golden Globe Awards, which is cool because I really enjoy awards shows but it’s also for work so I can feel like I have a good reason to be watching celebrities.
Having to stay up though to watch this and manipulate images to put up on PittWatch with a headache like yesterday would have been impossible.
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Last Monday, the last day we had before Hayley went back to school, I made a joke with George about how we had all been healthy for two weeks, but once she went back to “that petri dish of germs” someone would be sick within a week.
Ha. Ha ha ha.
Hayley spent most of today on the couch, lying down and moaning because her stomach hurt her terribly. A couple of times she even spiked a low fever. She ate a bagel for breakfast, but almost nothing after that until a bowl of applesauce before bedtime.
She was so worried about having to go to school sick tomorrow. I put her to bed and said not to even think about it. I will call the school before bed and leave a message to say she won’t be in because she’s sick and I’ll let her sleep in a bit so she can feel better. At least we got her homework completed today so she won’t have too much to catch up on.
Poor kid though. Seriously, what the hell do you have to do to keep your kids from getting sick at school all the time? It’s insane. We’ve all been sick since she started in September, one after the other, over and over with only the two-week holiday for a reprieve. I’m going to start sending her to school with a can of Lysol and instruct her to spray it around herself every five minutes.
And on that note, it’s time for me to make some tea and dig out the ridiculously delicious maple cookies we have in the cupboard - I hope your weekend didn’t involve headaches or tummy aches!
11 Responses to “House of Aches and Pains”
This post about being a pen pal to John Hughes (RIP) is AMAZING.
#This is a great post on creativity.
#My kids are still young, but even at only 6 years of age, Hayley is already on the phone with her friends. It's inevitable that cell phones will come around eventually, and this is a good article on safety tips to discuss with your kids about cell phone use.
- Friday Flashback (11)
Sickness from school is inevitable because for every parent who will keep a sick kid home there are probably ten other parents who will send their sick kids to school to spread diseases around. The culture exists to give awards for 100% attendance and that probably includes a few sick days. Bravo.
The thing about all the sickness is it gets better. That first couple years of school is the worst, they seem to catch everything and share it with the whole family. After that though it seems like they sick less and less. This has been true for us and most of the families I know with kids in school. As they get older their systems get stronger to. I give my kids a vitamin c tab every school morning also, has helped so much.
Karens last blog post..
Must have been a weekend for headaches.
Carries last blog post..The day that would not die
Awwww - poor Hayley! Poor Hayley’s mom!! But that photo of the moon? I’ll say it again - kicks royal butt!!
Randis last blog post..MeMere
Get her a small bottle of hand sanitizer with one of the clips for belt loops and teach her to use it often. Really often.
That’s terrible! I have had headaches like that, so I feel your pain. I’m so glad you were able to get rid of it (before it was time for the bus thing). I probably would have taken three Advil and knocked myself out. The photo of the moon is incredibly gorgeous. You did a great job with the other photos too!
Get her addicted to orange juice. ^^ Failing that, there’s kids’ vitamins meant to help with not getting sick. Good luck!
Poor Hayley. I called Oliver’s preschool to tell them that he will probably be able to come in for Thurs/Fri and the directress warned me of a nasty bug that’s going around. I’m considering not sending him even though I have to pay full price if he doesn’t go. I don’t want him getting sick so soon after surgery.
I’m glad your headache passed - I have had headaches like that and they are god awful.
Your moon picture is spectacular.
Dandy shot of the moon, there. Are you ready for the deepfreeze headed our way the next few days? I’m not. I’m never ready. What we do to minimize sickness is acupuncture four times a year just before the change of seasons. I found an acupuncturist who uses infra red instead of needles on kids. We still get sick but not with the same intensity that others do. We even skip a few bugs! Now I’ve gone and said that I’m doomed, huh?
Kims last blog post..Up Close and Personal
Get well soon!
I am puzzling why there are two red lights on the traffic light… is this a Canadian thing? Here in Oz we just have one of each colour…..
Kim - I am SO READY for this cold snap to go die now. Really. Are you staying warm? I keep hoping there won’t be a power failure (like there is in Toronto!) because BRRRRRRRR.
VTG - Generally our lights all have two red lights, one on each side. Some places still have the lights with one red at the top, a yellow in the middle, and a green at the bottom but most of them are like the one in the photo - some even have extra lights for left turn arrows.