Monday, November 9, 2020

Oh 2020, you are more horrible each day than the last.

So 2020 has been just a giant shitshow. I hope people looking back on this time in history are past this pandemic and learning from the lessons the U.S. Government failed to learn until Saturday, November 7th, 2020, when an adult was voted back into the President's chair and the Nation breathed a collective sigh of relief. I know I'm feeling much less stress. Of course, this is now the week M starts back to school in person, so we've been doing virtual school for the first nine weeks and then some, and it is ROUGH. I want teachers to get ALL THE RAISES. GIVE THEM ALL THE MONIES!!! They make miracles happen! And my kid doesn't hate me when I am not in charge of homework! Make me just Mom again, I hate being the taskmaster as well. I LOVE YOU TEACHERS, YOU ARE THE BEST!!!

So here's how the year really went. January, Coronavirus out of Wuhan (people are already coming back into the US) Fuck That Guy, also known as the current POTUS, closes the border to China. So we're shutting the barn door after the horse is in the house sitting and having tea with the family. It spread. NY got hit hard, no PPE anywhere for doctors, and no toilet paper anywhere for laypeople, and the delivery for groceries (YAY!), but suckage everywhere. School cancelled until the end of the year,nothing is getting graded, so M didn't go. Work had us stay home starting on March 17th. Fourteen weeks later, I was back in the office every other week, and on the opposite weeks as BigM, so that worked out nicely. We are all using masks, and I'm using a face shield, because I don't care if I look stupid, I DO care if I get COVID, because that might kill me.

BigM's cousin died of COVID. She was in Nevada. I have seen my sister exactly twice. Through the car door, and for like 2 minutes socially distanced and masked. I haven't seen Mom since February. I hope I can depend on the people I am working with the stay safe and stay away from groups of people. They closed the building suddenly at 4:30pm today with just over two hours notice, for "preventional cleaning". Which means that someome is waiting on a test result, to see if they may have exposed those of us at work. I am annoyed at all of it.

I just want some normalcy! It's very demoralizing.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Lyme disease is pretty sucky. (Warning, long and rambling)

So here I am, bored at home with numb arms and legs, feet, and sometimes hands. It's been a few weeks, and I think they are starting to worry about me at work, but I keep checking in, and they keep saying, "You need to rest and take care of your health", so I'm trying to do just that.

We're at the point where Little M's memory is coming into question. Or maybe it's an attention span problem. He's just so psyched about whatever he's trying to tell me (the names and special abilities of EACH Angry Bird, for example) that he totally forgets that just 10 seconds ago I asked him to put on his shoes. I usually do the repeat tactic, "Tell me what I JUST said." But when he's into something, it's like we're carrying on two different conversations at the same time, and he can't focus on mine until he gets all of his out.

He had us fooled for a long time about needing help in the bathroom. One day I asked him what he did at school, and when he said he did it himself (!) that was the end of getting help at home. Although occasionally he'll still yell, "MOM! I need help going to the potty!" Me: "Uh, I can't help you with that part, just push slowly!" Still, it's better than it has been.

He's so excited to be going to Kindergarten in the fall. Well, like a month from now. But I don't think he's considered that he won't see his friends from preschool unless they come to the B&As (that's before and after school care at his preschool). I know he'll make new friends and be fine, but this is the first time he's having to say goodbye.

He still makes a new BFF every time we go somewhere. At Chick-fil-A on Wednesday there were brothers around his age and the younger one checked to see that we were parked on the same side of the restaurant because he wanted to hold hands on the way to the cars. I told him we were staying a few more minutes, and we'll have to do that next time. So stinkin' cute.

Little M usually finds someone to run around with and on the way home he'll ask, "Did you get my friend's phone number so we can have a playdate?" And I'LL ask, "What's your friend's name?" Him: "I don't know." Well, my psychic powers only extend to what HE does behind our backs, and even then, sometimes it can be days before I find the stash of mentos in the pillowcase. Crazy child.

I'm pretty sure he's unaware that I have at least an hour between when I get home and when I pick him up to go through his room. The other day he noticed that I moved things around when doing his laundry and asked who was in his room, so maybe he'll catch on...

He's come so far since the last time I wrote. He's reading, out loud and to himself. He dresses himself, and is actually starting to help out around the house, which REALLY is great since this Lyme disease has me WIPED OUT. I wish I had more energy to play and take him places, but I just don't. Which sucks for both of us. And since Big M is wiped out too because of medications he's taking, we're pretty lame on the family activities.

We did make it to the July 4th parade, THANK GOD it's only about 15 minutes long. But we had fun and saw some friends, so we'll call that a win. I'm on my second course of antibiotics, and I'm hoping I'll get the numbness at bay so I can actually drive more than 2 or 3 miles before my nerves conk out on my. It's very frustrating. I've been out of control of my body before, but never so unexpectedly. I knew what my weaknesses were with dermatomyositis, but Lyme has me flustered with it's feeling fine one minute, and needing to crawl into bed the next.

Here's hoping I can get it together before the big carnival in the next county, so we can both actually get there, and have some fun once we do. Sorry in advance if we can't make it this year, kiddo.