Action

I did so much today, it is very impressive. I took a friend to the mall, and we wound up doing stuff there for two hours-- a *long* time for me to be up & around and in a noisy crowded environment. But we both had errands to accomplish, and we were able to do that. That completely exhausted me. When I got home the babysitter helped out for a little while longer, but had to go shortly thereafter.

This evening, Robert was at work, and I had no babysitter. I called four different girls, and nobody could come. So, I was on. I figured if I have to collapse into bed, I'll parent from there. I can always have the smaller kids fall asleep in bed with me, and the older ones are more independent. But as it turned out, they played really nicely all afternoon, and I played a few games with them, too. A sweet neighbor had brought over a lasagna for us, so I served that for dinner. Dov made the salad, and even portioned out the lasagna onto plates for everyone. The evening went smoothly, and everyone was in their own beds (not to be taken for granted!) early! And I am resting in bed... exhausted, but satisfied with myself.

Tomorrow morning, though, I have to go to Tel Aviv! I am going to Prof. Meller for my follow-up, almost a year after my PVNS surgery. It was supposed to be last month, but because of my recent surgery it is now. It is why the MRI was done.

So, since the assessment of the MRI was clear, and since the Be'er Sheva train line is down, I called to try to postpone tomorrow's appointment. i spoke with the secretary, who I like a lot. She advised against postponing for two reasons. One is that Prof. Meller does not go by anyone else's assessment of his patient's films. He needs to see it, and doesn't care to read the evaluation document at all. Not surprising. The other reason is that if I postpone now, I wouldn't get another appointment until November because he is booked solid, and the holidays are taking away basically a month. (that is part of being a Jew in Israel... a part that I love... that the country closes down for the Jewish high holy days. It winds up to be the better part of a month when all is said and done. It makes doing business harder, but puts into light that we are privileged to live in a Jewish country where nobody has to ask their boss for time off on Shabbat or holidays, and everywhere you go it is all about which ever Jewish holiday is around the corner. It's tremendous to be a Jew here).

So, I kept that appointment, and I'll have to go by bus. I thought about driving, but I realized I am not ready to handle that. I still use pain medicine regularly (Voltarin and Optalgin together), and I just can't spend that much time driving a car. What if I get stuck in traffic... I'd rather be on a bus with the seat back and someone else paying attention to other cars. I also am not so familiar with driving in Tel Aviv and could easily get lost and run the risk of falling apart. I know me, and I know my state of mind and body these days. I'll just take a bus and a cab to Ichilov hospital, and do the same to go home. I wish Robert was coming with me, but it's not an option for tomorrow. There are just too many extremely time-sensitive things to take care of.
So, I'll be solo tomorrow. Not happy about that, but it is what it is.

The construction workers are here every day now, working on the outside of our house; scraping, cementing, and priming it for the paint job. They will be putting up scaffolds, and eventually also making our pergola. It is good if one of us is consistently home, even though these workers are very independent. They even bring their own hot water pot and an extension cord for their coffee (and we have an outdoor outlet and water faucet, of course). I can remember other workers we've had in the past who were constantly asking for coffee (made to order) and refrigerator cold water and traipsing in & out all the time. We like these workers we have for this job. I can't wait to see it done! I gotta take before (now!) and after pics.

I gotta go to sleep. My sleep has been totally wacky this past week. It's the PTSD. I wake up from nightmares (in a shaky sweat and a muffled yell sometimes) or still from pain. Last night I slept terribly, just with the worries of our world on my head. It may help if I take that other half of sleeping pill I cut out, but I am resisting doing that.

I'll write more tomorrow, hopefully.
Good news, please Gd.