Catching Up: The Sleepy Edition

I realized it has been a while since I did a little update here- once school began, holy smokes have I been running from the beginning of the day to the end.  And there is no sign of slowing down!

As you can imagine, I have a lot of things to catch up on at school.  Being gone for 2 plus weeks has taken a toll on many different aspects of my job.  I REALLY need to take down displays and put new ones up, but that is the LAST thing on my mind right now.  I have to post progress reports by Friday, and that is the first thing that will need to be done. I am always playing catch up on my planning for lessons.  I have posted barely anything in the elementary, tho they get the majority of my prep time.... Oh boy.  Then there is the after school work I have been putting into prepping and painting scenery for the play.  I go home and kind of crash.

I see no sign of things slowing up for a few weeks, either.  I went to a class this past Friday/Saturday that I need to give some attention to soon.  I have a little homework that needs to be finished and submitted.  The class was a physical test of endurance, too.  I drove for just shy of 3 hours both Friday and Saturday.  My arms did surprisingly well.  But I had a little pillow to rest them on as I drove- that worked great.  The pillow was not as helpful when sitting in front of a table for extended periods of time. Something about that is just uncomfortable for me.  But there were frequent rest breaks and it was an upbeat way to spend some time and learned some very valuable things.

Over the past few weeks I have added many successes to my list of things I can do again.  This past Monday I added opening my own garage door and feeding the horse back on the list.  I am going to have to have the MA transfer the new feed bags into the bin for a while yet.  I can fairly easily deal with the heavy school door with keys and bags.  I can carry my groceries, if I double check to make sure they aren't too heavy, and if they are, I use two hands.  I can carry a can of paint with 2 hands as well, so yay for me.

I have also found a host of weirdo things that I cannot do, which I think I went into previously. I just discovered that cutting a microwaved burrito with a freaking fork has been added to that list just yesterday.  Color me irritated.

I specifically asked the doctor yesterday (appt. was in Park Falls- YAY) what and how I should be doing and thinking when I am going through my day.  Obviously if I have pain, I should not do something. The thing that I was wondering about, they thing I was wrongish about, is what about the plain discomfort - and for lack of a better word- pressure that I feel when I do some things that are pushing the boundaries, or just trying to eat lunch?  It's a big old back-off-a-bit-Debi for that situation.  I thought that trying to increase my strength by pushing the boundaries a little would be a good thing, but I have been instructed to WAIT  until the discomfort is gone.  About another 2 weeks.

To say this is exasperating is an understatement, but I will do the good thing for me and be aware.  I have found many ways around the discomfort by adjusting the way I do things, and that will have to do for now.  I also have a exercise, so to speak, that I can do a few times a day to stretch all the necessary parts in my arms.  Range of motion is where it is at baby.

IN two weeks I have another appointment including x-rays, yay for me I guess, and we will see if all those little cracks and smushes have fixed themselves.  Meanwhile I will live within my limitations, and actively seek ways to work around them.  By mid-week here, I am beginning to feel the fatigue of my profession and not falling asleep until late last night didn't help much in that regard.  But that is my own fault!  :)  One more cup of coffee and I will me on my way.  Bright eyed and all that.....  or at least  upright and mobile.  I have come to the conclusion, just this second, that I am looking forward to a time where I can get attention for the things that I can and do do, and not for what I can't do.  In the coming 6 weeks I have a play to attend to and at least 2 art shows to put up.  I am not liking looking at the limitations that might slow me down.  Sh*t's getting real here, to put it in the pop culture vernacular.

So, I have to get myself up and going- see what the day brings, embrace what ever comes.  And I have awesome get away plans for this Saturday, so while I am not wishing away my time, I do have an adventure in the works.  and it is about freaking time!!

Until next time, embrace your joys, the expected and unexpected....the planned and unplanned.  And then pass some of it along to others.  You never know when someone is going to need it.