Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Life and stuff


Three weeks in, and I've already fallen off on my commitment to at least weekly posts. Still, it occurs to me that when I began this blog way back in the day, it was supposed to be about whatever was on my mind, not a single topic. And now that I'm on my quest to make some changes physically, I don't think I should give up on that idea and only write about the weight loss saga. So here's some other stuff that's been going on, and maybe just a hint at why I've been distracted from the blog.
My grandmother has been ill for about two months now. Not like life-threatening, hooked-up-to-life-support ill or anything, but just an ongoing illness that we haven't been able to shake. She's elderly, so she stayed with me for the first three weeks, and then we thought she was mostly on the mend, so she went back home, but the family has still been preoccupied with checking in on her, taking her to doctor appointments, etc. Monday, we had to admit her back to the hospital for IV medications, and it looks like they'll need to keep her for about a week or so. Kind of crappy, but if that's what it's going to take to get her better, then that's what we'll do.
I think I mentioned earlier that I was under the weather myself. Well, that's still wearing me down. I refilled the antibiotics and will hopefully completely kick the crud soon.
Work. Most everyone has a job, and it's rarely because we want to work, so I figure everyone understands that just dealing with work can be stressful, annoying, tiring, and just plain sucky. Enough said.
Last week, tornados moved through the area. Fortunately, we had no damage, even though the closest one was just about four miles up the road to the west, and the next was maybe ten miles or so to the east. We were lucky. However, we did lose power for a few days. After not quite twenty-four hours, we broke down and bought a generator, just to get some essential services back. Unfortunately, we're on a well rather than city water, so the essentials didn't include running water. But now that we're through it, husband is on a quest to figure out the best way to get power to the pump so that we will be better prepared in the future. Just dealing with all that consumed a few of my days.
Then there's the kid. He's supposed to graduate high school next week. I say 'supposed to' because while he only needs one credit hour to complete his requirements, he's failing the class he needs. (He's failing a couple of others, too, but I've honestly quit worrying about those.) It's frustrating to watch him make bad decisions that could impact his whole future, especially when his only answer to why he does anything seems to be, "I'm 18; it's my life." Kids. I'm not sure when they realize the sort of hell they put parents through, but I think it's not until they have kids of their own. I mean, I gained a lot of maturity the older I got, and I could intellectually look back at some of the things I'd done as a young person and recognize that it was probably not a walk in the park for my parents, but I think I had to become a mother to really understand. Too bad. Life could be a lot easier on a lot of people if that insight could be gained a little sooner.
But, even in the midst of all that, the quest for more physical fitness goes on. I'll admit, it doesn't go on with quite the gusto I'd be able to generate without some of the drama, but it does go on. After three weeks, I've lost a total of six pounds and about four inches over various parts of the body. I could wish for something slightly more dramatic, but at this rate, I'll more than meet my goal, and that's the whole point. Slow and steady wins the race, as my mom used to say. Probably another thing I didn't listen to at first, but it's never too late to learn.