Now that I've become conscious of what's going on with my body, I'm learning pretty quickly that there's two sides to this coin of feeling better. I decided to have my birthday party a week early this year. My dear friend TJ came to town this week, and since I'm going to be out of town on my actual birthday, why not rally the troops to hang with TJ and to celebrate me getting hella old?
So, me and 12 of my nearest and dearest got together Saturday night. Since I can't drink due to my meds and I'm slightly bitter about that, the party was BYOB. Thankfully, if I take all my meds together, it's like taking a trip without leaving the farm, so I was a good little patient. My husband grilled hot dogs (and veggie dogs) and Kristin brought potato salad and her AMAZING olive dip--seriously, the stuff is THE BEST EVER and if you eat enough, you smell like a salami the next day the first time you sweat. God, I love garlic. Pretty simple spread that required very few spoons to get together. I even bought my cake, which would have been unheard of previously. So glad I did though--Publix Bakery makes a damn fine Caramel Pecan Crunch cake. Leftovers? There are none.
I'd had some fancy-pants party outfit planned, but I wound up staying in my t-shirt and cut-off shorts. I dunno, I guess my priorities are slowly but surely rearranging themselves. I wanted to be comfortable and have fun with my friends and not have to act ladylike in the least.
And the guest list--oh good god, some of the finest human beings I know. Brandell and myself, OF COURSE, and TJ, who lives in Denver and we get to see him maybe once or twice a year, Jenny and Jeff, who brought Rock Band and always make for a lively gathering, Eric, the fantastically hilarious artist who I hadn't seen since training class at the failed experiment which was my employment at Convergys, MY GREGGIE PIE, who's been my BFF since age 12, drove up from Jacksonville. I spent a good portion of my night attached at the hip to Greggie, including making Two-Headed Snuggie Monster while watching Gorillaz: Demon Days Live at the end of the night. And of course, Jared and Steve and Scott and Samantha and Kristin and all those fantastic people who make my world go 'round. Try to show me a finer group of human beings and I'll call you a goddamn liar. I'm so grateful to have all of these people in my life, and to have them all show up to celebrate with the old gimp who's politicking on the alcohol? I feel loved. <3
So, we stuffed our faces and played some Rock Band, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't indulge in a bit of herbal refreshment. Hey, if this were California, I'd be prescribed it by my doctor to help mitigate my pain, so why the hell not, especially on a night when pain is the last thing I need. And god, that was good times too. There's something magical about the campfire circle, how it can take a group of people who don't know each other and turn them into friends by the time the joint's out. Especially those moments when everyone is quiet and you look at the faces of those around you and think of how lucky you are to be surrounded by these people, folks who probably never would have come together were it not for that one common interest.
And since I wasn't drunk at the end of the night, Brandell and I got all the food put away and the house mostly restored to its pre-party state. I crawled into the bed and was asleep by the time my head hit the pillow.
Yesterday morning, the other side of that coin came down HARD. The grocery shopping trip/Kohl's run (because TJ needed a party outfit, ain't that sweet), what little party prep there was, plus being all over the place all night, sitting in uncomfortable positions, and generally acting the fool took its toll on me. My back was screaming. Muscle cramps and spasms that reached into my lower abdomen and hips. I spent most of the day trying to find a comfy place to sit. Couches? Fail. Comfy computer chair that ALWAYS helps my back? Well, I found the exception to that rule. I think the most comfortable place I wound up was sitting on the edge of my bed, a pillow behind me, leaned up against the wall. Thus, I spent a good chunk of yesterday after Greggie left in my room crocheting. Not a bad deal, if you ask me. Still, the pain was nearly unbearable, even with all of my meds. And...I just had to deal. I distracted myself as best I could. More importantly, I accepted that after a big, busy, active day, this will likely be the fallout.
So, lesson learned. Go on, have fun with your friends. Do the things that you want to do. But don't overestimate your spoon count. Schedule relaxation time, and if you can't schedule it, take it anyway. People will understand or they won't. It's that simple. I feel incredibly lucky that I do have so many understanding, supportive people in my life. Anything that enhances my gratitude for what I do have and the things that are going right can't be entirely bad, now can it?
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