March

Here I am, barely half way through March and it ranks high on my list of months-that-are-not-my favorites.

First of all I seem to have been struck with the dreaded gastroparesis. Not unusual for someone with autonomic issues and so far I have considered myself very fortunate to have escaped issues of that nature. Uncomfortable to put it mildly. But I am trying to handle it. I figure I will get through it; or not.

Of course, gastroparesis is aggravated by narcotic pain meds and I can't take NSAID's so that has left me trying to manage pain with hot packs and hot baths. Not good. When you wake up in the morning with pain of 5-6 on a 10-scale and it progresses to a 7 as the day goes on, it is difficult to manage simple day-to-day things like just getting up to go to the bathroom, much less a daunting task like cooking. Cleaning is out of the question and if it were not for a nice lady from church coming by a couple times a week we would undoubtedly be living in a real pig sty!

Then there is the weather. At least we have escaped the severe ice storms we had last year. I know I am spoiled first of all by the Montana Banana Belt winters - where ice was unheard of and the snow was so light and fluffy it would all be blown away within a couple hours - then the first few winters we were back here the winters were mild. I know this one is "average" for us but it seems like it is lasting forever.

I have missed church a couple of times, and I am cutting back on the few things I participate in there. The HopeKeepers group now has one meeting a month at the church and we go out to eat for the other meeting.

Tomorrow I am scheduled to make a presentation at the DAR meeting, and this time the ladies are going to get me ... reading out of a book. It is Women's History month and I have an excellent book I will take, then pass around. This is my last DAR meeting. This is something else I can't deal with. For the moment I will maintain my membership but not attend meetings.

I feel like I am slipping down the hill. A hill where I have never reached the top, a hill where I know I cannot reach the top. But now I feel like the hill has had an avalanche!