Jun. 12: It never ends

No news is good news makes for a boring post.

When I last wrote, I was complaining about the giant bruise on my chin. Sadly, that would not be the most uncomfortable thing to happen to me that day. Late Wednesday night, after a fun evening with Christina and Lovely Lori H and David Sedaris, I tried to go to bed. I don’t know if my great fall that afternoon made my back ache worse than it had been, or my back just started hurting more all on its own; either way, I began to experience some of the worst pain of my life. It was so intense that I was concerned maybe it wasn’t my back at all, but my appendix or my kidney or my gall bladder or my medulla oblongata. At 1 a.m. we dragged the kids out to the car and went to the emergency room.

About three hours later I was finally able to see a doctor, who within five minutes diagnosed me with a back sprain and prescribed the loveliest of pain medications. We rounded up two very sleepy kids again and got home just as the sun was beginning to rise. I would have loved to spend the day in bed, as the doctor recommended, but I had a year-end sundae party to throw in Katie’s classroom. I dragged myself into the shower and then wandered a currently-being-remodeled Albertsons for sundae ingredients, forgetting about the giant bruise on my face and wondering why I got so many stares.

That’s the thing about shopping at the same grocery store all the time; people recognize you and notice when you’ve got a giant bruise on your face. And they ask you how it happened so you tell them your husband has a nasty temper and then they give Vic dirty looks until he starts shopping at Safeway. Heh heh heh…

Anyway, it took me forever to find all the sundae stuff so by the time I got to the school I was running around like a madwoman (I’d like to thank Vicodin for making running possible). The party was a blast, I had lots of eager helpers, and I ended up spending the last hour making those origami fortune teller thingies for a bunch of fold-challenged third graders. I came home and collapsed into bed.

Now I just need to rest and get better. I’ll apologize in advance for less frequent posting in the next week, not because I don’t want to post but because I hope my recuperation is uneventful and there won’t be much to post about. Just a few other things…

• Today was the last day of school. Now how am I supposed to keep the kids busy all day, every day? I’ve got reading lists, chore charts, swimming lessons and play dates lined up. Also cooking classes so they can make their own meals and stop bugging me to get out of bed and feed them breakfast… and then lunch… and then dinner. Geez. It never ends with those two!
• I’ve got to see Away We Go. It started today at Fox Tower. Who’s with me?
• Ted and the kids are coming for a visit this weekend. As with all Manullang family gatherings, we’ll be eating and eating and eating. I plan to watch Ted closely so he does not try to poison my food. Why would he poison my food, you ask? Because I put these ‘shopped pictures of him on Facebook.
  
  
  
  Oh, and look there. I’ve published them to the web again. Well, that wasn’t very nice sister-in-law behavior AT ALL. Oops. Sooooo sorry, Ted.
• Hood strawberries are ready! They’re the delicious little sweet ones and New Seasons is hosting a free strawberry tasting tomorrow. I’m going to go because I have nooooo idea what strawberries taste like.
• Most of my day lilies have blossomed now, and they’re such a bright spot in our garden! The agapanthus are taking their time, but a few have finally popped open and are looking beautiful. The willow hasn’t gotten worse and even appears to have new growth on it, so I’m still keeping my fingers crossed that we don’t lose it altogether. The hosta’s also just about ready to pop and I’m eager to see what its flowers look like. Yay for our well-behaved garden!
• Victor and Wellington have been working hard in the backyard. I’m not sure what they’ve been doing, but every day it looks a little more cleaned up and garden-like. I commented that one corner hanging out on its own looked like Florida and Vic was all, HEY! I’M GONNA MAKE OUR LAWN THE UNITED STATES! Although I hate the idea and really really really hope he was kidding, I do think it would be pretty cool to see from Google Earth’s view.
• Millie figured out that the roof of the minivan is a really great place to watch the goings-on in the neighborhood. In fact, she’s so comfy up there now that she’s been doing those long, very complete baths in full view. Pretty.
  
  

Well, I’m off to Cassie’s house for an end-of-the-school-year party. No, I won’t be partaking of any of the delicious adult beverages, which do not mix well with my painkillers unless you’re a celebrity and want to get in the tabloids. And yes, I will be relaxing, unless Cassie has some heavy lifting planned for her party guests, in which case she is a very mean party hostess.