Stress

I had an interesting conversation with a receptionist at my health club yesterday. I went in and flashed my card at the reader (it reads the barcode on the card, then says, "Have a good workout!"), and the girl at the counter said, "Hi, how are you?" I said I was fine, and asked her how she was, and she said she was sore. Or achy, I don't remember for sure. I said, "Did you overdo it?" and she said no, that she was pregnant and her hips were hurting.

It was like the metaphorical lightbulb went on over my head at that moment. I'd been thinking that on top of everything else, I must have arthritis in my hips, because I'll wake up at night sore and achy, and turn over, and a few hours later, wake up again because I'm sore on that side.

But now it occurs to me that it may be because of the fibroids. If they've swollen my uterus to the size of a 14 week pregnancy, it seems likely that it would affect my pelvic and hip bones just as if it were a 14 week pregnancy, which is about where the girl at the health club said she was.

I still may have arthritis, but it was interesting to be reminded of all the other things that this whole situation may be affecting. I have lower back pain, and that may be because of the fibroids, too. It will be interesting to see if all these little pains go away after the surgery, and once I've recovered from all the new pains.

A friend of mine has commented a couple of times how nice it is that I'm able to see some humor in this situation, and my reply has been that it doesn't really do anyone any good to be depressed about it, does it? I have been depressed about it, and frightened, and worried, and all the things you would expect, but the longer I dwell on those aspects of it, the worse my stress gets, and that in turn affects everything else.

It's a stressful time of year at the best of times. I really thought I was going to have everything well in hand well before Christmas, but I ended up doing a marathon shopping expedition yesterday. I did get everything done, though, or, well, I got everything purchased. Or made. I think I knitted twelve scarves and a tote bag; I started two or three more scarves that won't get finished this year, but I'll have a head start on next year!

We're going to trim the tree tonight and have our little pre-Christmas feast (boiled shrimp and cheese fondue), then I have to wrap everything. I didn't have to ship anything this year, though, because my sister and Barb and Misty--all my out-of-town friends and relatives--will all be here this year.

Oh--the tree. Bob went out on Friday to buy one, and couldn't find one. Not that he couldn't find an acceptable one, but that he had a hard time finding any at all. It was just too late. So we went down in the basement and brought up the last artificial tree, the one Dinah destroyed a couple of years ago.

We bent the bent branches back up, and while it's sort of a Charlie Brown tree, it's not too bad. Of course, once we left the room, Dinah climbed it and bent the branches back down, but what can you do? It's a tree, and it's in the living room. Of course she's going to climb it! Both she and Pyewacket also took turns lying under the Christmas tree skirt, and pouncing on each other. At least they're having a good time.