Just be there...

Today was a bit of a productive day in that I caught up on filing and bill paying.  And, despite my showering myself with 50th birthday presents, a whole lot of number crunching.  I want to be really clear about where I stand come June 4th and getting to the end of the year in catch-up mode.

I did part of that out in my haven after I finished my meal.  Yep, I made a pulled chicken barbecue sandwich using the Spicy Dr Pepper Barbecue Sauce I made yesterday.  And one of the lemon cookies.  Gosh, does Krusteaz ever make the BESTEST lemon cookie mix!

One of the best parts of being outside, two days in a row after EONS of days of rain, was hearing my wind chimes.  They are exactly what I wanted:  ones that made lovely and gentle music.  I was a tad worried because they are not as large as the ones on the front porch.  My front porch wind chimes warm the cockles of my heart and satiate my soul.  I was worried there might not be cockle warming and satiating, but there was.

There is.
There will be.
BLISS.

Yesterday, I started a new medication, my 38th.  Normally, I would not be all that excited about adding to my regimen, especially since keeping track of everything and what needs to be taken when is draining, but, in this case, I am thankful that my new GP was open to me trying it.

Even alone, I feel gross having to eat with a box of tissue next to me.  It's so very frustrating that something as simple as eating means a nose that will drip all over my food.  The thought of eating in public has been overwhelming, even when that public would be my dear friends and my sister.

The nasal atrovent seems to be working really well.  I can take it up to four times a day, but, so far, twice a day seems sufficient.  I would like it to keep working at that dosage, because my other nasal medication is twice a day.  It would be easier to manage them if I could off-set them.  Anything to make my medication management more manageable. 

I also went up on the baclofen.  I would really like more pain relief with the spasticity in the back of my legs, but this increase has packed a wallop.  I am really drowsy and dizzy.  However, since the side effects I felt starting the medication and then the last increase went away, I am hopeful that will be the case.  What concerns me is that this higher does seems to make my infernally slow bowels a bit slower.  That was why my last GP never even told me about the drug.  It bugs me that she didn't, but with her words in mind, I am going to need to watch my output even more closely than my normal vigilance.

Two days ago, I had a trigeminal neuralgia flare.  I went 19 days since my last flare, so having one after so long was good and yet it was hard.  I am hoping the increase in baclofen, even if not helping my legs any more, might continue to help the trigeminal neuralgia, maybe even keep it further at bay. So, my drowsiness and dizziness is almost welcome just now.  At least for a little while.

Earlier, I was preparing for tonight's freeze.  I brought in all the succulents that I had migrated from the solarium to the front porch.  And I covered the raised beds and the rosemary bushes that are in the pots out in my haven.  To cover the plants in the raised beds, I needed stakes to tent the sheets a bit.  So, I cut some bamboo stakes into smaller pieces.  With the last cut, I was struggling to get through one of the bumps that you see on bamboo and ended up crushing one of my finger tips.

I Googled and learned there was not much to be done, other than to take pain killers and to try to control the swelling.  If the nail gets bad later, I can have a hole pricked in it.  The problem with controlling the swelling is that I cannot put ice on my finger.  With the Reynaud's, I could develop frost bite, chilblains at best.

I really mashed my finger something good.
SIGH.

Tonight, I watched the last episode of Blue Bloods, "The Thin Blue Line."  In it, Danny was talking to his father, who had told him to go downstairs and be with his family.  Danny protested, "I don't know what to say to them."  His father replied, "You don't have to say anything.  You just have to be there."

Best. Advice. EVER.

This applies to just about every situation where someone is going through a rough time, house burning down (like what happened on the show), death of a loved one, catastrophic illness, depression, etc.  You do not have to know what to say.  Just be there.  Not being alone in such times is a greater gift than any words you might hear.  I know.  Trust me.  I know.