Little VS a Lot

(Photo: Trenton in his own little 'hottub.' Isn't Amanda a good photographer? )






It's Monday morning. Labour Day they call it. I've done the dishes, cleared the counter, put in a load of laundry and cleaned out the fridge (nothing bit me). Later on I will make the bed, talk to Amanda about some of the work I need her to do for me and then I have mounds of paperwork to dive into. I'm hoping that that will just about do my labour for this holiday! I have a funny feeling there will be more. But that is okay. Today I feel good. I feel like tackling some begging chores.

The medical powers that be tell me not to overdo it but to do things when I feel up to it. Friends and family say the same. My brain sends different messages sometimes. One of them is, "If you don't work you are lazy." Another whispers in my ear, "If you don't have everything spic and span in your home and your life then you are idle." Then the final insult to injury murmurs, "Sitting around enjoying the sunshine is wrong because there are other people who would like to do that and they can't. "

On Saturday I thought I was up to doing a little. And I was. But sadly I think my little turned into a lot. I paid for it in the evening, though. My joints ached. I was fatigued. And, just to top it off, I had a fever. My fever was not too bad - registering 37.9C on the richter scale. The post chemo directions said I was to contact the doctor if it was 38C degrees or over. I was teetering.

I dragged my sorry self to the kitchen with a lot of help from Gilles. There I dug greedily into my medications, intent on knocking myself out for the night. I took a couple of pills to alleviate pain and a sleeping pill to help stimulate snores. And to think I was so reluctant to pop a sleeping pill a few weeks back. I am still not crazy about doing the pill popping but I am finding if I take a pill every so often to help me sleep, I feel better.

I half expected to be very drowsy Sunday morning and I was thinking that rolling out of bed would not be an option. But I was amazed at how much better I felt and it was good to finally make it back to church.

We had a bit of an unexpected surprise later that day. Gilles' sister, Aline and her daughter, Deva, from North Bay had come down for a surprise visit. She was at Carole's (their other sister) home in Fergus so we trotted down there after lunch to spend a little precious time with them. We were only planning on staying for a few hours, but we ended up there until almost 8:30pm. Did I mention they have a hottub and a soak was the perfect medicine for this achy old soul? Now that was the kind of little that turned into a lot, that really was good for me.

So the moral of the story for yours truly? Listen to the medical experts. Pay attention to family and friends who love me and stop listening to those nasty, annoying voices who go by the names of Guilt, Blame and Negativity.