Thursday: it's already that time of year where people's minds are not on work, so I spent most of the day reminding colleagues about things I need from them before they leave for the holidays. So that I can finish the things I need to do before I leave for the holidays. I was excited for the work day to be over, because it was date night. The first free evening my patient, long-suffering husband and I had alone together in too long to remember. And we had fun plans. Dinner at a hip local restaurant that specializes in artisan pizzas from their brick oven and then a concert by my favorite band in the history of ever. These days, it's extremely rare for me to attend a concert featuring music written within the last 300 years, so this was a real treat.
Our evening alone didn't turn out to be very "alone" after all, but we had a great time. The restaurant was very intimate. And by "intimate", I mean tiny, with tables packed together so closely I couldn't get up without giving our neighbors an inappropriately close view of my backside. We started chatting with an older couple at the table next to us, who were visiting from a small town about two hours away because their son was getting married here over the weekend. They were checking out the restaurant because the rehearsal dinner was the next evening at a nearby (larger) restaurant run by the same executive chef. They were a lovely couple and we enjoyed talking with them about their weekend plans. I was distressed to hear that they were still waiting for RSVPs from many of the guests invited to the rehearsal dinner. (Editor's note: I'm sure I don't have to tell any of you this, but it is so easy to RSVP to events, and so important to the hosts. All it takes is a call, an email, a text, a smoke signal. I'm sorry this appears to be a dying form of courtesy.) We had a delicious meal, as expected, and thoroughly enjoyed the company.
After dinner, we walked to the concert venue, where we ran into some very close friends. We enjoyed the concert with them, and afterward they let us in on the wonderful news that they had just gotten engaged! We were thrilled to hear it - besides being two awesome individuals, they are perfect together, and we couldn't be happier for them. It was a great way to end a really nice evening.
A few words about the concert. It was every bit as good as I expected it to be and I'm really glad we went. I knew it would be loud, so I thought ahead and brought our ear plugs. It would have been even better if we had actually worn them. Also, I have read that CRPS can be triggered by loud noises and that some people have to give up concerts for that reason. The concert definitely triggered it. My foot felt as bad as it has in the last four months, but I enjoyed myself anyway. Maybe that won't always be the case, so I will try to appreciate events like this while I can.
Friday: speaking of concerts, I did something crazy Friday morning. I took the morning off work so I could stand in line with a friend for tickets to an upcoming concert. A huge pop star is coming into town next year and playing at a really small venue, so we knew tickets would sell out immediately. We are from the generation where you camped out for tickets to events like this, so we got to the box office at the crack of dawn. And found ourselves alone. Apparently that's not how it works these days. The good news was that we were first in line! We were there almost two hours before the next person showed up. By 30 minutes before tickets went on sale, there were about six of us in line. We had fun swapping stories about previous ticket buying experiences and wondering why there weren't more people in line. Fifteen minutes before tickets went on sale, the box office opened and we were excited to learn they were going to reserve our seats beforehand and run the transactions when ticket sales officially started, so we were assured of tickets and got better seats than people buying online. Plus, the people buying online paid a hefty "convenience fee", so we felt like geniuses for going in person. In my case, a genius who only got four hours of sleep. Next time we'll know we don't have to be there quite so early.
I spent Friday afternoon at work, where all the reminders I'd sent the previous day resulted in lots of work to get done that afternoon. Friday evening, my patient, long-suffering husband and I went to a friend's 60th birthday party, a very fun affair that included a piñata filled with the tiny plastic liquor bottles you get on airplanes. A party like that will take the sting out of turning 60. We left a little early and I went straight to bed, where I spent the next 11 hours catching up on sleep after a long, event-filled week. My health monitor thinks 11 hours is too much sleep and gave me a failing sleep score, but I will have to respectfully disagree - it felt like an A+ kind of night.
Saturday: I woke up refreshed and ready for action. We had no events scheduled other than a holiday party that evening, so the day was spent in a frenzy, shoveling out the house after the previous week's activities, running errands, making cookies for various events in the coming week, and doing about 700 loads of laundry. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but it's amazing how much laundry two adults (and houseguests) can accumulate in two weeks. We had a really fun evening visiting with friends at an annual Christmas party with a gag gift exchange. If you see me in the near future wearing a belt buckle with a resin-encased scorpion, you'll know where I got it. And my favorite random quote of the night? I was having a conversation with a friend about travel, when he took a sip of his drink and suddenly exclaimed, "Man, I love grapefruit juice! This is the third glass I've had since I got here." I've known him for 20 years, but apparently I was unaware of his fondness for citrus drinks. Guess I'll stock up on grapefruit juice the next time he visits. And antacids.
Sunday (today): it has continued to be humid and rainy most of the week, a terrible weather pattern for my foot. I've used up all my stimulator programs and various amplitudes, to no avail. I guess I'll have to face the fact that winter is not going to be as good as summer when it comes to foot pain. At least the temperature has been moderate. Despite how I feel, I am trying to stay active this week in what is probably a futile attempt to make up for all the holiday parties and special meals, so I took my usual walk this morning before church. I managed to make it home about 15 seconds before the sky opened and the rain came pouring down. Score! By the time I showered and was ready to leave, it had stopped raining and I was able to get to church and back with no weather-related issues. This afternoon, my patient, long-suffering husband and I put up outdoor Christmas lights in between rain storms. I proclaim our house ready for Christmas - in any event, this is as good as it is going to get. This evening, we will make dinner for the next few days, since we'll have rehearsals through Wednesday night.
There, I am now officially caught up. Thanks for being patient. As a reward, here's a very silly scene from one of my favorite movies, which is set around the holidays. I was reminded of it because the man we met Friday night at dinner looked like "cowboy guy" in the movie clip. Enjoy! http://youtu.be/rFgEItulMmc
No comments:
Post a Comment