It is hard to believe that 2012 is over. "Tumultuous" is the first word that comes to mind. I can state unequivocally that this has been the most difficult year of my life. It began that way and never let up.
That said, I learned a great deal about myself as a result.
Well, if there's anything good about being sick the week of your vacation, it's that you have time to think about things. When I'm not zonked out on cough syrup, that is. :c)
When I wrote about being addressed as a girl last week for the first time, there was something I meant to include in that post that got lost in the shuffle.
Still under the weather, but definitely better than yesterday. Thank you to everyone who checked in the past few days. It meant a lot. :c) And what better way to get over the post-Christmas lethargy, whether flu- or tryptophan-induced, than with some primo Texas blues?
Alas, yours truly is not partaking of the holiday festivities. :c( My semi-annual bout with the flu hit me like a sledgehammer on Sunday night. I only get sick twice a year: once between Thanksgiving and New Years, and once again in March. However, they make up in intensity what they lack in frequency.
I felt perfectly fine all day Sunday. I went to the gym, ran some errands, and dropped some Christmas presents off at my brother's house. I then went home to cook my dinner.
Almost as soon as I took off my coat I began sneezing uncontrollably. Within minutes I was so sick that even my eyebrows hurt. Ugh.
I managed to drag myself through the day yesterday, but I fell asleep several times during my brother's Christmas Eve party. While driving home I was shivering so badly that I had to pull over; I couldn't keep a grip on the wheel.
I woke up several times during the night and was forced to change my pajamas and the sheets on my bed twice; they were drenched with perspiration.
Today I slept most of the day and feel slightly better, but I'm in no shape to go anywhere. Fortunately my mother promised to save me a plate; hopefully I'll feel well enough to pick it up tomorrow and to open up my gifts.
It's a bit depressing to be home alone today, but what can you do? I can say that 2012 cannot end soon enough for this girl. And I sincerely believe 2013 is going to be much, much better. I can't wait to see what progress I've made by next Christmas.
I hope you all are enjoying the day, and that Santa was good to all of you! For now, I am off to bed again, with some help from the Beatles and Beach Boys to help speed up the process.
And here are some parting thoughts, and my wish for all of you, courtesy of Jill Sobule's lovely cover of Warren Zevon's "Don't Let Us Get Sick":
I completed my tasks for the week (other than some minor cleanup work on a file I need to finish sometime over the weekend) and left for home just shy of 4:30.
It was such a weight off my shoulders that I didn't even mind that it took me an hour, rather than the customary 20 minutes.
Thank you again to everyone who commented and called and texted and listened this week. I would not have made it without all of you. I feel quite fortunate.
***
Although it's technically vacation time, I'm afraid there's one last quiz we all have to take.
First, I want to thank everyone who reached out to me after my last post. Your kindness and concern is humbling. It made me feel wonderful to know how people really care. So, again… thank you.
(That even goes for that certain someone who told me to relax, or else she would "kick your skinny Irish butt all over town. And with four-inch heels, that would hurt. A lot." It was the first time the prospect of a butt-whipping was comforting. lol)
I have one more day to go 'til my vacation mercifully starts. I cannot wait to get to tomorrow afternoon at 4:00-ish. I plan to celebrate by watching the entire Anne of Green Gables DVD set. A friend joked recently that she was a Southern Belle in a previous life; I replied that I always wished I could have been Anne. :c)
But before I get to Friday, I had to get through Thursday. And as awful as Tuesday was, something happened today that almost single-handedly made up for it. I still have a hard time believing it was real.
The events of the past 36 hours have been horrific beyond description. I don't have children, so I cannot begin to fathom the pain of the parents who lost theirs in yesterday's senseless slaughter.
As a rule, I don't post political material here. But I will make an exception today.
I haven't been sleeping well for several weeks, and it's finally caught up with me the past week or so.
It isn't anything I haven't dealt with before, nor is it something that is going to stop me.
But it's still been a difficult few weeks.
I tend to focus on the more humorous and light-hearted, as so many transitioning blogs can be, well, kind of a downer. :c) But it's important to also write when I'm feeling a bit blue myself.
I know there are a few people who read this blog, and maybe someone in the future will find something that is useful to them. And that's part of the reason why I write. The most important, and somewhat selfish, reason, is a) so I can figure out how I feel about certain things, as writing seems to be how I do that; and b) to help me remember how I was feeling during my transition.
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