Reasons To Love Monday

Reasons to love Monday: It's over. That's it. Only reason.

The Dental Drama Part Deux that I had done on the seventh was due for a recheck yesterday. So when the jaw pain got really bothersome Saturday/Sunday and when my ear started hurting overnight Sunday night, I thought... I'll go to the dentist, he'll wave his majic wand suction thing and take out the stitches and I'd feel better. By Monday morning my breath smelled like something had died in my mouth and I was feverish and in so much stinkin' pain... so when I was telling the assistant (I can't remember the proper name for her job) while we walked back to the exam room she said, "ooooh. You probably have a dry socket".

I had heard the term dry socket before but never really understood. It's basically where the healing tissue doesn't completely cover the bone so the bone is exposed to air and food and whatever else goes in your mouth. It was quickly determined that this evil dry socket was what was causing my pain and I was given some options for treatment. The recommended one was to numb me up again, open up my tender tissues and repack with this god-awful smelling stuff. Better than the death breath but not by much. I took the advice of my dentist and went the needles and smelly route. Every dental procedure I've had to this point I've had anxiety meds before. I have some legit dental phobias. But yesterday, since I was driving, I had to just tough it out. Fortunately he got me number (is that a word?) than he did when he pulled the tooth last week.

Armed with another prescription for pain meds I headed to the local pharmacy. It's a small town, I get a lot of prescriptions, I've been going there for seven years... they know me. So when my prescription med plan declined paying for the meds because I've had too many pain meds over the past month, the pharmacist called the dentist. She said he acted shocked that I was on other pain meds... and then she rolled her eyes because she has been filling my prescriptions for seven years and she knows I'm over the top about doing things correctly where my drugs are concerned. I told her... "I have a narcotic agreement with my Pain Dr... the Dentist had to consult the pain doctor before he started working on me"... The dentist told me the pain doctor was fine with me taking pain meds after dental work... my pain doctor CONFIRMED that he had discussed my meds with the dentist when I saw the pain dr after Dental Drama Part One. So they adjusted my prescription down to just a few pills to get me through "the acute phase".

I was irritated because as a chronic pain patient I'm very sensitive about anyone thinking I'm doing anything illegal or unethical regarding pain med use and also because I had a prescription for pain meds because I NEEDED pain meds. But there's just so much more serious stuff going on in our lives so I just tabled those frustrations until I see the dentist again on Thursday to change my packing. I bought myself a new eyeliner... some of those butter cookies in a tin... a box of chocolates (because the best thing to do after Dental Drama is to eat a bunch of sugary stuff, right?) I bought Oscar TWO new toys - I usually buy him one whenever I go to the pharmacy because they have dog toys on the dollar aisle and I get an automatic 20% discount because I'm a frequent flier at the pharmacy. I tried to just enjoy the residual numbness and lack of jaw pain for a bit and let the drug drama bother me.

I got home and Oscar was hoarse from howling for me. Lady had pooped on the porch and peed in the hall. The dishwasher needed to be emptied - a chore that is way more painful than you would imagine because of the bending and stretching involved. It wasn't a terrible lot of things to deal with but it was just a reminder that my mom isn't here to take care of me and the animals and the house and all of the things she does to keep our house a home. I grabbed Chinese leftovers from dinner Sunday night out of the fridge and made sure Lady had food and clean water and pouted my way down to the Whine Cellar. I cleaned out the litter boxes and made sure everything was settled for me to sit for a bit. I heated up leftovers... I couldn't taste and my lips were numb so I was drooling food all over me but I wanted to get food in my body before it hurt to do so. I was just a hot mess. I asked Tasha to see if her dad would pick Austin up from work because I knew I wouldn't be able to take pain meds if he couldn't because - driving. Honestly, I just sat down and had a much overdue meltdown.

My parents called while I was in full on meltdown and sort of talked me back from feeling so overwhelmed. Later when my brother texted me for an update on mom I realized that I had been so wrapped up in my own mini-drama that I didn't even know how mom was doing!

And she is doing some better, I think. She's graduating to soft foods today and the doctors are consulting to see if she should be transferred to Emory or if she can come home for a bit. She's swelling a little bit and aching from being in bed for so long. Pop had a sleep study last night so he stayed in Gainesville all afternoon and evening and then spent the night at the sleep study place.

Can you believe Christmas is next week? I'm so grateful that we shopped ahead because it would have been so hard to do now. I've given up figuring out if I've gotten the same amount for all my kids/grandkids. I'll just pass out twenty dollar bills for wherever I come up short. I have most things wrapped, maybe five or six more presents and there are a few things still on the way. We have to make up some sausage balls. I'm going to enlist Tasha's help with that! We still don't know if we're having Christmas here or at Jim and Angie's and it mostly depends on how mom is feeling and if Ollie can come here.

Speaking of Ollie... Marquee's grandpa passed away on Sunday. I'm so sad for her family. They're all so very close and his loss will be greatly felt. Marquee's grandma does Christmas in a big, big way - trees in every room, a big feast on Christmas Eve. It's just so much harder that they lost him at this time of year. Marquee and Cody got home from California on the 6th and grandpa had gone in the hospital the day before so they went straight from the busy-ness of traveling to the busy-ness of having a loved one  in the hospital to the busy-ness of having just lost a loved one. It's been a crazy month for them. I would have loved to be able to be with them to help with Ollie but Cody said he was helping everyone feel better. That's the kind of kid Cody was... just having him around made everyone happier.

And I'm needed here. Oscar will not leave my side. The few times I've had to leave the house since Mawmaw went into the hospital, Oscar has been completely inconsolable, howling like he's lost his best friend. He doesn't want anyone but me, not even Pop. Not even Tasha who is way more of a dog person than I am. He has slept with me every night. He spends the day curled up beside me in my bigger nest (the couch). I smell like a dog. Little Kitty may never speak to me again.

Of course, just like Ollie is bringing joy to Marquee's family, Cosette brings joy to us here. She came down here yesterday afternoon (her mama brought her here, I should say) and I sat on the floor and played with her for awhile. She laughs out loud at all the animals. She's cuddly and funny and just literally a bundle of joy.

But it's Tuesday now. I made it through Monday. The sun is shining. My rationed pain meds are helping but the jaw and ear are still hurting more than I feel like they should. I'm spending today in the Whine Cellar, in the nest, as comfy as I can be, as quiet as I can be. Austin is off work today and can maintain the rest of the house. This week, the best reason to love Monday is Tuesday.

Love and hugs, y'all.