Chalk it up to the reality that we are each growing older. I saw my 59th birthday last February, and he turned 65 in April. Neither of us are ancient, but we're not youngsters either. Clearly.
I came into this summer break with more than the usual level of exhaustion. A difficult ending to the last school year left me sad, worn, feeling drained. I finished without my usual sense of elation at the ending. And, it has taken me all of the long days and nights to get myself back into some kind of feeling of vitality and personal well-being. We have simply slept and slept and slept, rising around 11:00 most mornings.
I've struggled mightily with migraine headaches this summer, seldom going more than a day or two without a monster headache. Severity has been more of an issue as well. Frequency and intensity and duration all part of a personal battle that has left me too often gasping on the shores of a sea of headache pain.
Tom has had a really tough month following the cardiac ablation in July. The procedure itself was more difficult than we expected, and then there were complications to COMPLICATE things. He has spent a month feeling pretty miserable -- worn out and in pain. And so, when we have been able to get him to rest comfortably, we have... slept.
Maybe, at some level, we have needed all these long, slow, sleepy days to finally complete that transit through all the various challenges of the last number of years. There has been no real drama. No days of anger and bitterness. We've simply curled up together and drifted along on a time of peace and calm.
Now, the days of summer are ending, officially. According to the calendar. Time for me to head back to the classroom. In some ways, I feel like we squandered the opportunity to play and spank and wind ourselves
Hi there
ReplyDeleteThere are two blogs I have taken to reading whenever I get a chance: yours and master's piece at Down the rabbit hole. Thought it was time I come in from the shadows and officially say "Hey!" to you. Thanks for the consistent good read.
I'm sure it has been a good thing for you to have had lots of rest and sleep for a few weeks. A pity about the migraines, though. No-one seems to have an effective treatment for that. Rose used to have them at the menopausal stage, which seemed to last three or four years, but now that is passing she doesn't get them so badly, and in a year or two I am expecting them to disappear entirely.. It won't be easy for you to function in the classroom, though, if migraines are striking frequently, will it? Have they afflicted you at other times of your life, too? Anyway the last week is about over now so I wish you renewed vigour and optimism for the coming year!
ReplyDeleteI am sorry that Tom has had to have cardiac ablation, sounds like something I would avoid (I had to google that.) Occasionally I notice my heart rate is irregular; twenty years ago I started to notice periods of tachycardia and other heart anomalies, I did let myself be examined and a heart specialist prescribed pills, which I would have had to take indefinitely. I decided not to take that route! I reckoned the pills might do more harm than good, I am very suspicious of systemic drugs. Nothing serious has transpired since then, although I have noticed irregularities sometimes; but since I am a fatalist, and not anxious to prolong my body's life beyond its natural span, I ignore them. There's increasing deafness, uncertain balance and increasing visual difficulty due to cataract, too, but I am still able to cycle into the town, do the shopping and bring it back, also to cook the evening meal every day. Life is good. I might manage a silver wedding with my third wife in eighteen months' time, but if not, I won't be here to regret it!