Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Lofty goals

150/365

I had planned on taking Chris to see Miss Lisa, his play therapist last week.  But Chris had a field trip with his class.  So we bumped his appointment to this week.  Yesterday, he had his appointment.  Though I did the math, and thought, if we do the appt, at 10, then have lunch, and drive back to school, he'll only have another hour or so left in the school day.  In general, I try not to schedule for during the school day, but she really didn't to delve too deeply over spring break, so we wanted to continue, just in case, he was feeling some sort of issue.  Actually, it seems he just needed a little closure.
I didn't know that at the time, I just knew he wanted to see Miss Lisa.  And if the boy wants a little therapy, and it helps him cope with all the stuff he's got on his plate, then by gum, I'm going to give him some therapy.  In fact, I'll give him a whole mental health day, and instead of RushRushing back to school, we'll just go berry picking, and chill the heck out.  He's been too stressed out lately.  We have been busy bees every weekend since the snows stopped, and heck, even barely then.  A lot of my parenting is done by gut, if my gut tells me I'm all frazzled and in need of a little justification and therapy, then the odds are the kids are too, or they are going to be responding to my frazzled-ness in kind.  This is my non-medical opinion.  But like dissolves like after all. Yeah, and I also feed the kids when I get hungry too.  Anyway, I decided to just take the day. I even warned the school that I thought it might be too much rushing to get him back after therapy and lunch, so he might not make it to school.  And he was going to sleep in.  Frankly, I was thinking this was going to be a great day for Chris.  Everybody needs a little mental health day once in a while.  I certainly did/do.
Anyway, to surprise him, I turned off the alarm clock, so he could sleep in.  He did.  But when he woke up, and realized he was late, he Flipped Out.  It was not the relaxing thing I thought, because he freaked that he was late for school.  I had reminded me about his appointment on the way to karate, but dumb me forgot to remind him at bedtime.  So he freaked out.  That kind of killed the morning's mood of a relaxing mental health day.  At first Chris didn't understand what I meant by giving him a mental health day, that my goal was to help him get a little rest and relax before school geared up for the end of the year.  Ha!  I have such lofty goals.  I think Sam hadn't slept either because he was just as hot of a mess.  By the time we left for therapy, Chris was at 1 time out, and Sam was at 2.  Every time Sam looked at him wrong, Chris freaked, and tattled.
Then we went to Miss Lisa's.  And he got calmer.  It was a good visit.  I do love her, and how she loves my boy (technically she fawns over all three, but she's really helping the eldest).  The berry picking wasn't going to happen because spring was late, and so are the berries this year.  I thought we could go to the park...but first Lunch.  They chose McDonald's.  There was one with an outdoor playground just down the street.  So we went.  However, somewhere between leaving therapy and getting our lunch, I tweaked my back.  I was sitting at my lunch, and I realized I was having trouble breathing.  Not like, can't breathe, just like I'm getting a bad back spasm that hurts worse when I take a deep breath.  Yup.  Another nasty spasm.  I think I tweaked it lifting Jake, because it was clearly my Jacob lifting muscles that lost their mind too.  I had to cut short the kids playground time.  So much for my lofty goal of going to play at the park, or taking pretty pictures of them playing outside. It took all I had as I let them play while it took me 15 minutes to get Jake out of the high chair, outside, and into the car.  From there, then I called to beg Eric to come home.  I got him into the car, but I really didn't want to get him out.  The elder boys suddenly became so helpful, especially Chris.  They were so understanding, they weren't even that upset that I had to cut short our mental health day.  They knew how bad I was hurting.  They were even quiet all the way home, because they knew it was taking all the energy and strength I had to drive.  My chiropractor didn't open until 3, and it was just after noon when we got back.  Eric met me, took Jake, and the big boys went and played in the basement.  I got a nap, and an appointment with the chiropractor for very soon after they opened.  I was lucky, even though it had been a few months since my last spasm, I had pretty immediate pain relief after my adjustment.  When I walked in there, I could barely lift my arm to turn the turn signal in the car without tippy toe-ing my fingers up along the steering wheel.  Just like old times.  But by the time I left, I could lift my right arm without agony, or at least, without as much.  I came home and went to lay down, but Eric and Jake were finally asleep.  Sam too.  But Chris and I were the only ones awake.  We needed hamburger buns for dinner.  Eric was going to pick them up on the way home, only we all got distracted.  I was feeling so good, that I decided to go get them and let Eric sleep.  At least, I could drive.  I couldn't lift much, like Jake, but bread is light.  Chris wanted to come with me.  He became my special helper. We ended up picking up a few things more than bread.  We got buns for dinner, but also some yogurt for the boys, kroger cottage cheese for Sam (he hates everyone else's) and a new basil plant for me.  My birthday basil plant was mostly dead, the stem was black and the leaves wilted.  I think something got it.  Anyway, Chris helped me pick out a rockin' new basil plant.


Technically it's called a Sweet Basil.  Chris liked it for its name.  So Sweet Basil it was.  It smells great, I can't wait to get some harvest in my garden, and eat up!  So, our mental health day didn't work out as I was hoping it would.  I managed to stay under calories for the day, because my back hurt so bad, I couldn't eat.  Not a diet I would recommend.  I'm tired of being in so much pain that I can't breathe, or that I can't see or think straight.  An adjustment helps.  And so did alternating hot and cold a bit.  Still, I feel crappy, and I hate feeling crappy.  At least I could be left alone with the boys all day.  The same was not true a year ago.  
Baby steps. 

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