( Potentially inspiring but probably mostly pathetic rambling is hiding behind this cut so you aren't accidentally subjected to TMI. )

You've been warned.

( Please ignore this rant. )Thank you.

Breaking us is always so fast and easy. Over before you even know exactly what happened or how. Mending, though, that's another matter totally, isn't it?

I mean, take pneumonia. Stuff sneaks up on you like a ninja. One day, it's just a bad case of sniffles and a headache. The next, it's a hospital visit with some nice tech asking you to please save them a sample of your sputum. I mean - ewww. Worse when you just get to watch the broken, coughing loved one languish in the open-up-the-back gown and admittedly cool bed that props her up so she can more effectively hack out the liquid contents of a lung.

Then there is the broken that is bone. Multiple fractures. The dreaded diagnosis of "non load bearing" that means you aren't going to see the outside of the house except on the way to another doctor, physical therapy, or surgery appointment for a very long time. The mending that means not sleeping. Not sitting still. Not bathing properly, even. The big, slow ouch that doesn't stop. Never mind the pretty pills with the drowsy and dizzy warnings on the labels. This mending follows the incredible pace of the shifting of tectonic plates and the swift building of stalactites in deep, wet caves. You can watch it happen, practically. Feel it, certainly, in the swell of abused soft tissue and throb of raw bone ends further insulted by the introduction of metal pins and plates that will make it possible for you someday to walk again. Probably. At least to the bathroom and back.

Oh, and hey, if anyone in a funky blue hat and name tag that proclaims them an anesthesiologist gives you the option of a nerve block, say yes. Shout it, so they don't miss your enthusiasm. It may grant you the last good sleep you get for a while.

Swelling again now. Got to go find ice. Or maybe just crawl into the freezer. Hand me the crutches, will you?

"The Things Jack Does" won an award. How cool is that!



See it at Skiffy Awards Round 2, or here's the entry at lj.

Second place is good! Thank you all for nominations and everything!

Excuse me now - I have some writing to do....

I found this outside my own front door. Be back soon!
Happy Holidays, everyone!

Writing again soon, I hope.

Sorry folks - I am still writing. A few real life things have interfered - for one an inner ear infection that doesn't want to go away. Yay for antibiotics! But the dizzy to the point of nausea that's the primary symptom and the constant sleepiness have been making writing rough. I did get in about two paragraphs....

I do promise I'll get this finished and off to my wonderful beta soon. Honest.

Well, inspiration struck again, but not in a nice way. A friend's injury brought my attention to my own pain coping tools. Arthritic, with scoliosis, I know pain management isn't all about muscle relaxers and pain relievers. It's about not letting pain rule you.

So this was my opportunity to finally define a tool I use regularly.

( The basics of meditation as a means of pain management, as it works for me. )

Cut because it's long and non-fiction.

Inspirational, as always!

Oh, yes! I think I finally got this image/poem to match my internal eye's view!



*dances out into the rain*