The Year Of Soreness

Hello my little orange friend!

The past two seasons have been quite painful so I am glad to feel the weather beginning to warm. For the first time in at least a few years, I had to either work from home or take a day off because of the unrelenting soreness that invaded my body earlier this year. And it didn’t take long after we changed the calendar for the bitterness of winter to remind me that my body doesn’t take too kindly to frigid temperatures. There were two days in particular when I woke up in the morning, slowly got out of bed, and came to the quick conclusion that my back and knees in particular were going to be particularly ornery that day.

In each consecutive instance, after sending a short message to the office letting them know I would be working from home and taking an extra hefty dose of Motrin, things began to loosen up and I was actually able to get a reasonable amount done those days. It is not commonplace but the reality is that sometimes I need to take the time and try to take care of my body. It took two days but the strategy worked and I returned to the office later that same week. It was actually the only time that I had to work from home this past winter.

Of course, the next bout of soreness was a completely different situation entirely. While the first accident in March happened on a Friday evening on my way home, I made the mistake of not getting checked out over the weekend so that by the time I tried getting up on Monday morning, my body was none too happy with my decision. In this instance, I simply called out. I went to see the doctor and did my best to take it easy the rest of the day (with some help from my friend Mr. Motrin and I think one muscle relaxant). The next day I was back in the office.

The next accident, less than two weeks later, I didn’t have much of a choice as I was taken from the scene in an ambulance. Being that this collision occurred during my morning commute, it was guaranteed that I was going to be taking the day off. More violent than the first, I learned from my previous mistakes and paid attention to what I needed to do to get back to work which I did the following morning. March was a very sore month which did carry over into the early part of April during my business travel.

Hopefully all of the soreness for the year is behind me at this point and that this next season, or two, or three, will allow my body to recover a bit from the challenges experienced during the first six months on the calendar. Of course, this is also a good reason to take better care of myself beyond those difficult situations as I might be able to recover faster if I were in better shape. I guess there will be a little soreness in the coming months but for a completely different and much better reason.

Business Trip Recovery

One of the most difficult aspects of a business trip is the recovery afterward. Not only is it the work projects that, for the most part, were put on hold during my time out of the office but, more importantly, it is about making up the time with family and returning to our usual routine. No matter what I have tried it has yet to be made any easier.

What didn’t help this time around was the fact that I few down to Atlanta over the weekend not feeling well and after a few days of early mornings and late nights, I was really feeling like ‘crap on toast’ upon my return. Further complicating the matter was the fact that I had a lodge meeting on the schedule for the evening following my return and there was no possibility of staying home from work that day either. And because that wasn’t enough, both my wife and son were fighting off something.

Just one of these things would have kinked the works enough to make the simple task of getting work done even more difficult but having everything descend upon me all at one time has made the day less than fun. Makes me wish that I had caught up on everything else, the multitude of open projects, prior to my departure. I guess this is just one of those instances when you just put your head down and work until you can’t work anymore.

It really is astounding how much things have changed over the last few years. Walking out the door has become harder and harder with every tear and disappointed look on my son’s face and knowing that there is the possibility that I might miss something while I am gone is nearly an unbearable feeling to hold in throughout the day. And while I know that I am forgiven soon after returning home, the sadness that I have caused during the week is something that I wish I could take back.

Thankfully, this last trip concludes the bulk of my business travel for the year with only a few quick day trips that could pop up during the remainder of the year. I am hoping that my son will better understand the situation next year and that I might be able to have my family join me in the future. It would further complicate the travel but a complication that I welcome.

TMI Tuesday: Baby Doesn’t Need To Know Everything!

Over the past year, especially over the last couple of weeks, I have found that sometimes the best way to protect my son is to not share everything with him. Just over a week ago we didn’t have much choice when I was rear ended on my way home. He knew that I was supposed to be home to tuck him in and when I called that night to tell my wife what had happened and that I would be home in time, he knew something was wrong and he worried about me for most of the weekend. When the same thing happened to me this morning on my way to work I was able to let my wife know and we didn’t mention anything to our son… in fact, he was happy to see me home when my wife walked through the door after picking him up from daycare.

That’s right, the same thing happened. Well, almost the same thing. Either way, our son didn’t need to know what happened…

The incident occurred while on my way to work this morning. I was traveling in the left lane heading eastbound on the PA Turnpike in inconsistent traffic. Traffic was going about 40-50 mph but, soon after passing the Downingtown exit, traffic ceased to move. I came to a halt about 1.5-2 car lengths between myself and the car in front of me. When the car came to a complete stop I noticed in the rear view mirror, first in my peripheral vision and then with nearly instant focus, that the Gray Ford F250 behind me was not stopping. I did not hear any brakes.

When he impacted the rear of the rental card I was in at the time (a White 2016 Dodge Dart for those who need the reminder) I was forced approximately 2-2.5 car lengths forward. Thankfully, I avoiding the car in front of me by guiding the now super-compact car toward the median. After taking about 5 minutes to collect myself and after Turnpike personnel blocked all lanes of traffic I drove the car to the right shoulder of the road about 50-100 yards from impact.

Turnpike personnel, PA Troopers, EMT, and the towing company were on scene soon after the accident. The other driver admitted to me and to others on the scene that he had taken his eyes off the road. The Trooper collected our information and took statements for the incident report. I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance soon after since this was the second such accident in about ten days. Thankfully, they didn’t find anything in the slew of x-ray that I received and I was discharged shortly after noon.

Just when I was beginning to feel better from the previous accident and starting to catch up on everything, I was out of the office for another day and everything else was put on hold as the stiffness and soreness set in. By the time our son came home, I was able to hide the pain and discomfort so that our son would not worry again. I hate keeping things from him but I also hate seeing the worry on his face and the tossing and turning that it causes him at night. Hopefully, this is the last time I have to hide something like this from him… hopefully this meets my accident quota for a while… I don’t know how much more my body can take of this. At least now I am in a slightly bigger car as compared to the Dart… a fully loaded 2016 Chevy Suburban.  

A Different Thanksgiving

There is a lot to be thankful for this year. Seems to be quite the clichéd way to begin this post but sometimes the truth is in the cliché. There have been a lot of great things that have happened over the past year for which I am incredibly grateful for even in light of our usual annual routine being completely different than what we have become accustomed to over the years. Not all changes have been good ones but that doesn’t mean that this past year hasn’t been good or that we are less thankful for what we have. If anything, we are even more grateful for the things that we have now.

With everything that has happened this year and especially over the past month my wife and I decided to really change things up for Thanksgiving this year and do absolutely nothing. Well, more accurately, we decided not to go anywhere and stay home to both enjoy the holiday as a family and get a few things done around the house. Remember, we haven’t even been here for a week at this point and there are still plenty of things to do and organization that needs to be done.

It was actually a really nice break and while we didn’t accomplish all that we had planned, we were able to spend the extra time together and take a few moments to catch our breath. And, for our son, it was an extra day to catch up on his sleep and recover from the lack of routine offered by the daycare… thankfully we have found a solution for that as well. However, the most important part of thanksgiving this year was to step back and allow ourselves to try and transition from our previous annual routine and prepare for what the future holds for this day.

We are going to have to find a new holiday routine now that so many things have changed and we are now settled into a home with our son. And while we didn’t do much today we really experienced a lot over the past year so taking the day off was very much needed. We have a lot to be thankful for and a lot of memories to cherish. It is a different holiday at this point in our lives and one that has taken on an entirely new meaning. We are thankful for many of the things that have happen this year and, at the same time, we are thankful that the year is almost over.

TMI Tuesday: What Rhymes With Poop?

Well, the poop hit the fan last weekend! As last week came to an end, we were all tired. It was a long week at the office for me, my wife returned to work after doggedly pursuing the last document she needed from a former employer, and our son had his first experience at daycare (he spent three days there). We were all ready for a quiet weekend spent at home taking a break from the chaotic days that seem to have dominated these days off during the summer. Well, that was the plan…

We had noticed that our son wasn’t feeling well later in the week and my wife had taken him to the pediatrician on Friday to get checked out. We followed the directions they gave us and we put him to bed with a little Tylenol (per the instructions we were given), a cold air humidifier in the corner, and the head of his bed slightly elevated. A few hours later, with my wife and son now both asleep, I was at my computer sorting through my neglected emails when I could hear what sounded like a wounded cow near the top of the stairs. When I turned the corner to walk toward the bedroom there was my wife holding our moaning child. Something wasn’t right.

It wasn’t long before we were all in the car on our way to the emergency room. Thankfully, it was a slow night and I was able to hold my son in the hospital bed shortly after our arrival. In the end it wasn’t just a cold as the pediatrician told us earlier, he had Croup. Almost immediately after he was given the right medicine the groans stopped and we could both tell that he was beginning to feel better. An hour after we arrived we were back in the car and on our way home. We were all exhausted and soon after our return assumed our positions from before this whole ordeal began.

Obviously we all slept in on Saturday as we resumed our plans and took it easy allowing our son sleep as much as he needed and my wife and I trying to relax, order dinner, and spend some time together. Well, dinner was a mistake. By Sunday morning our son was returning to his normal happy self while my wife and I were struggling to do just about anything. After my wife reluctantly cancelled her plans for the day, we knew that this wasn’t going to get better without some help so we both headed over to the local Urgent Care once my mom arrived to watch our recuperating baby.

Fortunately, the doctors knew exactly how to treat food poisoning and so after some medicine and two IV bags, we returned to the house feeling a lot better than when we left. While we were both nowhere near ‘better’ we both felt good enough to return to work the following morning and our son, no longer contagious, returned to daycare. It was a long weekend after a long week and I hope we never have to go through that again!

Space, The Current Frontier…

Over the past month my wife and I have continued to stay busy with the growing list of things that we need to get done before the baby arrives and other things that need to be taken care of in the family. Lately there has seldom been a day that we could find the time just to breath and pull back from all of the chaos that is currently surrounding us. Of course, there have been other things and people that have continued to pull us into various situations which was not helping things either.

There comes a point, which we came to last week, when you simply have to pull back and look at the larger picture. We would like to do anything and everything that we can, help in any way we are able, and generally just check things off of our lists of task that we need to get done. However, some of those things are hurting everyone more than they are helping anyone. This past week we came to that conclusion, pulled back from certain things, and refocused on the positive changes in our lives.

The space that we gained, the calmness achieved, and the focus we now have is something that has been missing over the past month. We are finally able to breathe and recover from all that is happening around us. Don’t get me wrong, we cannot fully disengage from those people and situations around us but we can’t let them run our lives either.

We have grown to appreciate the need for space. Both from situations and people but also in the physical area around us. Life had become incredibly cramped and it was time to reset the boundaries, reorganize, and embrace the space that we have in our life. This is necessary not just to protect ourselves but our baby as well. Frankly, we don’t want our child to feel as though they are imprisoned but the situations and people around them.

The freedom that this decision has afforded us finally allowed us to have a weekend that feels as though it is more than a couple hours long. The days seemed to have slowed down and the tenseness has been removed from the simplest of things like driving, texting, and calling. While not a perfect plan by any means and something that we don’t expect to last, it is the best option that we have in front of us and, so far, making that space is just what we needed.

Detour To The Hospital

This week started off a little more hectic than usual but, for some reason, went much faster than I could have ever expected. However, there were times when I couldn’t help but slow down and step outside of the chaos for a few moments. It is something that comes naturally when a brother, a friend, is in need in some way. Those are the times when we come together and realize the bond that we have with our fellow brothers.

Over the weekend I had gotten an email from the Worshipful Master that he had fallen ill and would require a couple of days to back on task. I didn’t think anything of it at the time as we all have those moments when it simply takes a little bit of time to recover. A couple of days passed without improvement. Finally, he was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday night with, what I would later discover, was a severe infection.

Strangely enough the office had cleared out on Thursday by 5:30pm and I found myself driving down the highway, past my usual exit, and into the hospital parking garage. I really don’t like hospitals and tend to avoid them but that fact didn’t creep into my mind that night. I wasn’t sure if he was taking visitors or if he would be happy to see me but I couldn’t just go about my usual days and nights without checking in on him. It was only then when I was made aware of how serious things had gotten and how much improvement was already being made.  

It was an interesting experience as this was truly the first time that I was able to feel the bond that I have with one of my fellow brothers beyond the usual tasks and projects of the lodge. I have had similar experiences but not like this, not with a brother I have been working closely throughout the year. And the thing is, I know he would have done the same exact thing had the roles been reversed.

It was actually a good visit, at least as good as could be expected, and after about two hours I was on my way back home for the night. On my way back home with a list of tasks that I am happy to help him complete. I don’t know how they are going to get done but we, as a lodge, will somehow find a way. We always do!

Sunday: The Complete Opposite Of Saturday

Name that movie (before he became Batman)...

I know I have written about this before but it has been some time since I last approached the subject and that is because of the simple reason that I hate cleaning. However, there comes a time when you just look around and you have no other choice but to pull out the vacuum, prep the Swiffer, and knock off all the crud from the bottom of the broom. Sunday was that time for me when I could feel the dirt on the bottom of my socks and I could see the coating of dust on the coffee table.

With other things on my plate for the day, it was by no means a deep cleaning (that will have to be done at a later time) but I was at least able to clear off a couple of the tables and pile all of the miscellaneous crap into one consolidated area. Yesterday was all about reducing the coverage of the clutter rather than eliminating the mass of the mess. So now, everything has been shoved to one side or another and neatly stacked in sortable piles which I am sure will sit for at least another week before being touched.

Once these things are taken care of it will be time to vacuum the entire apartment. This is not going to be one of those quick pass type jobs, this is going to be an all-day process with multiple passes, numerous bag changes, and a follow up Swiffer to take care of all the fine dust kicked up throughout the marathon. That is the part that I am really not looking forward to. Everything else is bearably, it’s that vacuuming that is a royal PITA.

At least when you are sorting through piles on tables you have the occasional moment of “I forgot we had that” or “I was wondering where I put that”. Vacuuming does not throw in those moments of relief. You are not going to reminisce about a Dorito that you had a month ago that bounced under the sofa only to be found by the bristles and suction of your Hoover. It just doesn’t work that way, at least not for me.

So I guess you could say that round one is done with the longer, more exhausting, rounds to go. While I am not looking forward to the process, I can’t wait for the end result when we return to a state of maintenance rather than recovery. Until we get to that point it is a matter of returning to cleanliness and working on the maintenance schedule that will immediately follow. I guess we will see how that holds up.

Anyone Know Of A Good AA Group Around Here?

This is the line that really has me strung out!

Despite our frequent warnings, this past week my wife and I had a friend of ours finally take the plunge and get onto ancestry.com. Since then we have noticed a significant increase in their time spent online sometimes going well past midnight. Of course, this is one of the early warning signs and my wife finally got to the point that she had to ask the question that was also floating around in the empty space of my mind, “Are you getting too addicted already?!?!”

We ask because we are and, if need be, we will have an intervention. We know the signs all too well and we know the constant pull that the website has during all hours of the day and night. We are Ancestry Addicts and we are proud of it.

Unfortunately, I don’t think our friend really knows what they are getting themselves into. It starts with a small hit and a high that is just enough to make you want more. Soon it is never enough and you are spending hours at a time on the computer without even knowing it. One night you get on for a quick search at 10:00 PM and before you know it the light peers through the blinds and it’s time for breakfast.

And, if that wasn’t bad enough, it gets worse. Soon your reaching out to relatives you haven’t spoken to in years grilling them for more details about a cousin you just discovered or an Aunt that caused a ruckus in her neighborhood in 1924 because she didn’t care for the art deco designs. That’s when you find that only an addict knows how to satisfy and addict. The rest of the world doesn’t care if your great great grand pappy had the grandest outhouse in the county and before you started chasing the genealogical dragon you didn’t care either.

There really is no end to the vicious cycle of research and discovery and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I am a heritage hoarder and an ancestry addict and I’m darn proud of that fact. I am finding out who I am by finding the people that made my family what it is today. I will continue to search and I will always look for new places to explore. And while I am looking elsewhere I will continue to return to the tree and, occasionally, partake in some of the good stuff, the easy highs, that come about when a new leaf appears and taunts me with its shimmy.

Yeah, I have problems but I can’t stop to think about that now, I have more work to do and files to organize. So while I’m gone feel free to comment and let me know of any good Ancestry Anonymous groups that might be out there. It’s always better when you get high with others.