Silent Spring

I've been absent from this blog for a long time and, unfortunately, it's not because I've been doing other productive writing or activities. Since April I have been riding a wave of illness and disappointment that took a large toll on me. I just didn't have the heart or energy to write. But I'm feeling better now, at last.

Shortly after we returned from our vacation in March, my husband and I both came down with a stomach virus. It hit me harder than it did him and took about a week for me to recover. Another week or two passed and I still was not at the top of my game. Then I started running fever and really feeling poorly, along with experiencing some fairly yucky intestinal symptoms. I went to my doctor, who told me he suspected something called post-infection colitis, which happens when your digestive system has a hard time getting back to normal after an illness.  I took a round of antibiotic and felt better for a few days. Then the infection must have re-bloomed because all the symptoms came back with a vengence, with a UTI on top of things. I was in a lot of pain, hence another round of antibiotic, this time piggy-backed with a pain reliever to make me more comfortable. I finished the last of the antibiotic last week and soon started feeling better. I don't think I'll have another "bloom" so a lot of anxiety is gone as well, plus, I'm almost pain-free at this point. I still have a little trouble at the end of the day. Now I'm just working to get my stamina back without overdoing it. I'm struggling to find that balance.


Physically, I'm on the mend and doing much better. But emotionally? Not so good. In the middle of my extended illness, we learned of a betrayal by someone very close to us. It involved the death of our son and other long time wounds. We were devasted and even now, I feel nauseated when I think about it. I'm sure it did nothing to improve my health, but it's something we have to come to terms with. 


So I'm recovering on both levels, but still have a way to go. I think it's a good sign that I felt like writing this today because so far, it has been a very silent spring.


Thanks for stopping by.

I'm a Little Cranky

I know that those of you who follow this blog are expecting me to write about my great Caribbean trip and show some photos. I'm working on that but, in the process, have gotten delayed by illness. My husband and I both contracted (he from me) a stomach flu that has laid us low for most of the week. I just haven't felt like writing all week.

But today I woke up feeling a little better and had the strength to dress, go to "town" and get a few errands done. Totally worn out by the time I got home, I proceeded to sit on my reading porch and read around on the Yahoo! News site for a few hours. It is so easy to get in the middle of this practice and lose hours at a time going from one link to the next, but today I didn't care. I just wanted to sit there and do nothing particularly productive. 

I needed some time out of bed, since I'd been there almost exclusively since Monday night. I'd gotten up and dressed, makeup, jewelry and everything, so it seemed a waste just to go straight back to bed. I was also tired of watching TV. Wednesday and Thursday I watched the entire season (12 episodes) of the Showtime series "Homeland." I hadn't heard of it until I saw this month's Vanity Fair - the annual Television edition, and stuff about "Homeland" was all over the place. It stars Claire Danes as a manic/depressive CIA Analyst who is convinced that a returning POW/hero was turned during his eight-year captivity by the Taliban. Each episode is about an hour and a half long, some are two hours, so after watching all 12 (I got hooked,) I was looking for something other than TV. (Here's the link to the "Homeland" website in case you're interested. http://www.sho.com/site/homeland/home.sho)

OK, so here's why I'm cranky. While reading around on Yahoo! News, I saw an article on Yahoo! Shopping entitled "Black Workout Pants for Every Body." Since I'm always searching for pants to wear to yoga that (a) hide my Buddha belly and (b) are stretchy enough that I don't constantly have to pull them back up after doing a pose, I clicked on the link. The article described the best pant for different body types -- boy-shaped, bottom-heavy, long & lean, big belly, etc.-- and linked you to the shopping site for the type of pant which would look best on that body type. One of the categories was "If You're Plus Sized" which proceeded to describe and recommend a great pair of pants by Reebock. Intrigued, I clicked on the shopping link which took me directly to Reebock's site, not some retailer who may not have a complete stock. I read Reebock's spill and decided, OK, I'll bite. Now remember, these pants were recommended for "If You're Plus Sized." I clicked on the size pull-down and found that these pants are available in small and medium only. This from the manufacturer. Don't you think the writer from Self could have done a little better on the research? If you're going to recommend something for big size people, doesn't it make sense that the product should be available in large sizes? Small and medium...I'm just a little cranky.


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