After a week of taking nerve block meds for my shingles, I cut myself off. I was done feeling like everything was softly pinging off my senses, turning me into a ditzy, confused, unexcitable version of myself. I was ready to deal with whatever pain was left over so I could feel again. Be myself again.
It seemed like a good idea Sunday night, but by Wednesday afternoon, my back was throbbing and it felt like every nerve in my body was firing at once. Not the best experience in the world, which made me so mad that I couldn’t see straight. What was I supposed to do? Go back on the medicine that dulled the world or just deal and stop complaining? I slammed pots and pans around the kitchen, muttering under my breath, while trying to ignore the ruckus going on in the living room.
“You can’t come in the living room, Mom!” my kids shouted with glee, “We have a surprise for you!”
“Great,” I grumbled, “just what I need…another ‘surprise’ to make my day”. (In our house, “surprises” usually meant a lot of extra clean up work for…me.)
But I dutifully closed my eyes and was led into the living room. When I opened my eyes, I found that they had pulled off a “party for Mom”.
I was led to a special chair with a pillow for my back, and given Madi’s Nutrition Week crown to wear while I experienced everything the party had to offer.
Decorations…
Presents…
Entertainment…
Dancing…
Snuggles…
…and the best distraction from my own frustrations I could ever imagine.
The “shouldn’t-be-surprising” part is how clearly kids can pick up on feelings even when they are not plainly expressed. The “proud-to-be-their-mama” part is how they made a concerted effort to help me get through the afternoon. Empathy turned into action. (Plus, they are always looking for excuses to put on a “show”…two birds with one stone, right?)
Today was much better. No more temptations to jump back on the meds. No need for a party today. But I think I’ll keep the decorations up for a couple of days…just in case I have a rough moment. It does this mama’s heart good.
Its amazing how hugely sweet such little people can be! So sorry to hear about how terrible you were feeling – I hope there is no relapse whatsoever and you’re back to 100% very soon.
Shingles???? Who knew? One of Dan’s co-workers had gout once. I nearly fell off my chair laughing. 🙂
Yeah- doing better…:) And feel free to laugh too…what else can you do? (And what other strange things are in our grown-up future?)
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