Self Nurturing: The Desert Experience

To say that I have been in a “dry spell” is an understatement.  I have been wandering in an arid desert for some time. It has been a month since I have written anything.  Nothing has surfaced to the tips of my fingers during that period.  Life has been happening, as usual and there is little control that I have over it.  It is a good thing that I trust in God to take care of the universe and that I do believe that everything is in divine order, even if I cannot see that.

I have been dealing with bee stings and the consequent physical reactions to them.  No, I’m not completely allergic to them.  I don’t have to carry the little needle stick thingy that some people have to carry.  But I do get very bad localized reactions – swelling, infection, and inflammation, which means a trip to the doctor.

So then I had to deal with antibiotics and tapering steroids, followed by the consequences of taking antibiotics (you ladies know what I mean by that!).  And so, guess what?  Another trip to the doctor.  Which then meant more antibiotics – great!!  The weather then turned “grey” for several days and my spirit, which was struggling to stay afloat anyway, took a nosedive.

Just to add to my personal misery, I took a tumble.  I was having lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, stepped from the carpeted area onto a very slick (read greasy) rubberized part of the floor around the food area, and felt like I had stepped onto an ice rink.  I managed to not fall on my back (which was where I was initially headed), but went down hard on the outside of my right knee.  It’s amazing how something like that can affect the normal routine of life.

First of all I had to cancel my Pilates lesson and make yet another trip to the doctor.  When I walked in this time I asked his receptionist if she had my key ready.  She looked somewhat confused and asked, which key?  I smiled and said, “The key to my hotel room.  I feel like I’m taking up residence!”   I went home with a knee brace and instructions to “RICE” – Rest, Ice, Compress, and Elevate.  So no Pilates for a few days, no exercise at all for a few days.

Just to let the universe know I was not happy, or maybe vice versa, who knows, two days later I banged the toe next to my little toe on my left foot into a door.  I’m not sure what kept the cuss words at bay.  Perhaps a lot of practicing at reducing this particular defect of character.  After icing it for a couple of hours it turned the requisite deep purple and blue green and I decided I should buddy tape it in case I had broken it.  I made the decision not to go to the doctor’s again just in case he thought I was stalking him.

It is at this point that I remember thinking that I would like to go to the airport and get on the first flight that came along.  Then I thought that maybe that could be to “Small Town, Idaho” (no offense to any natives from there).  So I went out and bought a bar of the best chocolate I could find and deliberately comfort-ate with a nice cup of tea.  Very British of me!

Well the last couple of days have seen a slight shift in the weather.  Not quite so hot and definitely not so swampy.  I love the heat and the sun and I even tolerate humidity, but we’ have had six or seven solid weeks of relentless heat and humidity and I have discovered that it drains me on all levels.  And when I’m drained my Muse disappears:-(.

So the cool breezes and lower temperatures and the lack of high humidity levels seem to have freed my spirit enough to get on the keyboard.  I am hoping that this will continue for a while now because I can already feel some ideas catching up and getting ready to pop out onto the page.  Have a great Labor Day weekend.