Reasons to Love Monday, the World Tour.

Ok... maybe the world tour is overstating things a bit... but today is going to be a very odd and disjointed day for me with a lot of driving. Driving hurts. My piriformis syndrome is particularly painful on the right cheek so when I'm using my right foot to press the gas/break it presses on that nerve.

My usual compensation to ease the pain is to lean off of that cheek and make the pressure go on the left cheek but there's a lot of sciatica pain in that part of my seat.... and we know what's going on in the bullseye....

I have to drive from our cozy little home to Gainesville to see the surgeon.... have my pre-surgical exam where they make sure the scope of the treatment and surgery is still indicated.

THEN I will drive over to the hospital (next door) and do the registration, blood work, etc...

and when that is finished... I will go to work... which is just about a half hour from the hospital...for just a couple of hours...hopefully long enough for me to do my usual stuff so that nobody else has to do it...

and then I will drive to Austin's school which is about a half hour from my office for what will probably be his last IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting, to determine if he is still eligible for graduation and to determine his post graduation vocational plan. He will enter into a vocational rehabilitation program that will teach him very important things about what is expected by an employer and hook him up with an employer who is involved in the program.

Hire the handicapped. It's a good thing. I don't know what kind of benefits are available for employers who hire disabled people but I'm pretty sure there is some kind of tax credit for it. Must research this further.

Depending on what time the meeting ends... I may go back to the office. If it's going to mean driving the half hour back to the office to work an hour or less, I'll just go home.

It makes me tired just typing it. I'm having a lot of pain today... not just the back, I'm still having crazy cramps any time I eat or drink anything... about ten minutes later I start having horrible abdominal cramps below the belly button. I'll definitely bring that up to the surgeon today. Wonder if I could talk him into a tummy tuck at the same time? Hmmm...

Ok... end of my whining and belly aching (literally)... it's time for my Reasons to Love Monday:

1. It was a good weekend. Lots of happy bonding time with the kid and the furbabies. Lots of laughter. Lots of rest.
2. Mucho driving during the day means a very short time at the office. I love my job but it has been a painful place for me over the past year.
3. I'll be driving right by the Starbucks so I intend to stop and indulge. A pumpkin spice latte is just what I need on a disjointed day to tie my world together.
4. Starting next Monday I'm on a clear liquid diet for at least three days. I see weight loss in my future! When I get home from the surgery I'm still supposed to eat things that are "easy to pass". After my last abdominal surgery (the endometrial ablation I had in June 2008) all I wanted afterwards was apple juice and graham crackers. Since i was mostly alone afterwards, it was good that I didn't require anything more involved.
5. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Even though I haven't wrapped anything yet.
6. Austin is feeling much better and is going to school today.
7. We have worked together to keep the kitchen clean and it's been clean for a whole week! The floors... eh... not so much ... but still! OF course, clean kitchen makes me realize how much of my silverware has disappeared into the abyss of disarray in Austin's room.
8. A long time in the car means a lot of listening to Christmas music which makes me really JOYFUL! I haven't heard my favorite karaoke Christmas song: Santa Baby... but that's ok. I've heard lots of good stuff and will hear more today.
9. I love Monday because I woke up on the right side of the dirt today... I have a car that will almost certainly get me where I need to go... I can afford gas to get where I need to be... I have the money to pay the doctor and the hospital... I have the insurance to take care of what I would never have been able to afford... I have family support and encouragement... I have friends who support and encourage me... in all I do, there is a vast and diverse network of love that encircles me... it drives out the dark and gloom and enables me to face whatever I have ahead. I am blessed.

Hope you find reasons to love Monday this week, too!