It's Been A Long Time!

OK. So I haven't posted anything since December 1st. I really have no excuse except that I just haven't been "feeling it" lately. I've had a cold since the weekend after Thanksgiving and I must admit, this one is really hanging on and dragging me down!!! Hopefully, this cough and headache will end soon!

A few things have happened since my last post.

1. I backed into a mailbox with my car. The mailbox fared much better than my car and I just got it back from the repair shop. Thank goodness for insurance!

2. We had a HUGE ice storm last weekend. It was brutal! We lost several trees in our backyard, but luckily none hit the house and we never lost power!

3. I had my EMG test at the Neurologists office. Basically, they wire parts of your body up with electrodes, in my case, my right arm and hand, and zap you with electrical shocks. If your body parts jump and it's very uncomfortable, then you pass the test! I lit up light the 4th of July. They also did a muscle test, where they put tiny needles in your muscles and make you move the muscle to see how it functions. Not the most fun way to spend 20 minutes, but not as bad as I had envisioned either. You kind of get used to the shocks and your fingers jumping without you telling them to!

The results of the test were that I have some muscle "changes" in my arm, caused by my surgery. The doctor told me that this is what is probably causing the weakness. I also have an irritated nerve in my elbow. Basically, my funny bone is funny all the time! Tennis elbow, without the tennis part. So, I am to rest my elbow on a pillow whenever possible and try to keep my arm straight while sleeping!

As for the "shakes" that I experience periodically, no answer was given. I'm just going to hope that it goes away as fast as it came! I must admit, I have been feeling better the last week or so. Let's hope it's a trend that lasts!

Oh, and I haven't forgotten, I owe you all that picture of my funky, fingerless gloves!

The "It is what it is" Prayer

My husband is always saying "It is what it is". Truly, it does take the pressure off of worrying about things you cannot control. In the past several weeks, I've been experiencing a lot of nerve pain. Burning, stabbing, aching pain in my hands and arms that is not relieved by any medication I have been prescribed. The times I can spend sitting watching t.v., I spend with the electric heating pad wrapped around my hands. In desperation on Friday, I went out a bought a pair of "mittens without fingers". They are heavy knit, with a warm, fleece lining. They are also electric pink with black butterflies on them. (I will post a picture later.) I've been wearing my day-glo mittens around the house to help keep my hands warm. They really have helped soothe the pain, if only in my mind. They also take me back to the 80's...so Madonna-ish! Anyway, back to my husband's saying... "It is what it is" really reminds me of the Serenity Prayer. I am posting it here today, in it's original form.

Full Original Serenity Prayer

by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)

God, give us grace to accept with serenity

the things that cannot be changed,

Courage to change the things

which should be changed,

and the Wisdom to distinguish

the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,

Enjoying one moment at a time,

Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,

Taking, as Jesus did,

This sinful world as it is,

Not as I would have it,

Trusting that You will make all things right,

If I surrender to Your will,

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,

And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.