I think that I tried to committ death by pain killer today.

This morning, I took a much needed dose of Midol at the same time as I took my arthritis medicine Celebrex. In short order, I started feeling rather badly. I grew worse and worse and began to wonder if I should ask D to drag me to the hospital.

I was dizzy and sick to my stomach and my head was pounding and so cold I could barely stand it. With little choice, I huddled beneath three blankets on the couch and tried to keep my moaning to once or twice every twenty or so minutes. After all, I didn't want D to think she had yet another child to deal with on her hands.

After a few hours, Kashi needed to go outside, so I let him drag me around by the leash. When we returned, I realized I felt a wee bit better. I figured the fresh air did me some good and wondered if there was something in her house that was bothering me. Of course, I have grown up with Christmas trees even if I have not had one myself in recent years. And D is the cleanest person I know. So...what could it be?

In the late afternoon, she enlisted me to help her with crafts, despite my still frequent moans and trembling limbs. I squinted against my throbbing head, clamped my lips shut against my still protesting stomach, and tried not to move too quickly as to guard against the waves of dizziness.

By late evening, when we started painting (yes, I have now painted in three states), I realized that the need for emergency care was passing. I was going to live.

In retrospect, perhaps taking two strong pain killers at once was not quite the best plan...no matter how good it sounded to me at the time.