Thursday, April 14, 2011

If You Won't Slow Down...Life Will Do it For You

I feel compelled to begin this post with a disclaimer; The content you are about to consider has been penned under artificially enhanced circumstances. Any errors, omissions or misunderstanding are unintentional.

Unintentional is the condition that I find myself in at the moment. I arrived here innocently enough, It began with  a pain in the neck. No, this is not a post about my husband or children, this pain was real not figurative. The pain began Wednesday afternoon, it started in my shoulder without warning and began radiating in all directions. By bedtime I was fighting back tears. Some Advil got me a few hours sleep. I was ecstatic this morning to wake up pain free, sometimes a little rest is the best cure. My excitement lasted 45 seconds apparently pain receptors do not wake at the same rate as the rest of the body.

The general consensus is that the pain, now extending down my arm and into my hand, is a byproduct of stress. Personally I refuse to believe that. I have no room or time in my life for stress. I also have no time to fall to my knees because of some discomfort. Missing work is a luxury I've used up in recent weeks, so into my polyester uniform I crawled and off to the restaurant I went. I made it through the shift, all 4 hours of it. By 11 o'clock however I was on a b-line for the drugstore on the way home for some pharmaceutical relief to get me through an afternoon at job number 2. I have a thing with medication Don't Call Me Buttercup will clarify it for you.

I grabbed a box of muscle/pain reliever, hurried home and took 2, chasing them with a glass of milk to apologize to my stomach for what these pills would put it through.

On those boxes there is always that warning "do not operate heavy machinery or motor vehicles while taking this medication." Baaah... I've never encountered that medication that actually causes the cognitive impairment and drowsiness they warn you about.

Until today!

Within 30 minutes my head was swimming. Feeling much the same as one does upon realizing that you've had one drink too many, you know where you're heading but you just chomped the ice cube from your empty glass so you know it's too late.

I decided it was probably prudent to stay put. I called my boss and embarrassingly explained my predicament. Then I called Michael so that someone was in the know of my condition and plan for the balance of the day, just in case an explanation should at anytime be required.

I headed to bed where I enjoyed the best nap of life! I woke up hungry and thought that some writing would be a nice use of some downtime. 3 cookies and I began tapping this piece. I did attempt a photo (because a good post includes a photo) but apparently a camera qualifies as 'heavy machinery' and my capabilities are still highly impaired.

On the upside... The medication was also highly effective at handling the pain. There's some gratitude to celebrate!


Spend some moment everyday in reflection of gratitude and happiness. Even if the time found is standing in line for coffee...use is wisely.


Michelle


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