This week I took some time off from writing because circumstances seemed to decree it. We had a national holiday (Monday, January the 17th) when all three of us (Paul, Joely, and I) were off together, a snow day from school (Wednesday, the 19th) that Joely and I didn’t take off, and then another snow day (Friday, the 21st) that we did take. That gave us two three-day weekends in a row, which was pretty nice. As a rule I usually take off whatever snow days my local school district takes off. merely because I remember how exciting it was as a kid to have an unexpected day off. Yes, we homeschool, but I hate denying Joely the opportunity to enjoy an occasional day off due to weather. Besides, I’m positive teachers like unexpected days off too, because I sure do!
So, after a three day school week, I should have found some extra time to write, shouldn’t I? And I did. It just wasn’t here! Instead, I pulled out some stories I’d started writing many long years ago and brushed them up, wasting time but never really completing anything. Unfortunately I’ve done a lot of that in my life: Wasting time on stuff but never completing anything. I wish it wasn’t true, but it is. So, to combat that pattern, I’ve decided to sit down and write up a list of things in areas I have begun to see improvements in.
One of the best developments I’ve noticed over the last couple of weeks has been my ability to sleep through the night again. Mostly, sleeping through the night has been because I haven’t had to get up to use the bathroom. That is a major improvement, and it’s been years–YEARS–since I’ve slept through the night without having to get up at least once. There has been a noticeable lessening in the number of trips to the bathroom all around, and yes, I’m keeping track, because it’s always been such a nuisance. Several times last week I went almost six hours between trips during the day, and that’s unheard of for someone who used to go hourly!
There’s also been another development that might sound like a weird improvement but is, in fact, still an improvement: I’ve begun to sweat again. Now that may not sound like a big deal to someone not in the know, but for the last eight or so years I had lost the ability to sweat. Why is that a bad thing? Well, if you have things you need to get out of your system (specifically heavy metals, for one example), sweating is the time honored way of doing so. And as for me? Eight years ago when my MS symptoms began showing up, my body also stopped sweating. It was a sign and a symptom that showed how messed up my bodily functions were becoming. Hence, sweating again now is also a sign and a symptom that my bodidly functions are improving.
So, in conclusion, these two facts on my list may seem like odd and not so significant changes in someone’s else’s life, but I know better for my own. Things are changing, ever so slowly, but they are changing.
I like the sound of that.