Rocks in My Head

It’s six hours and counting until September 1^st and I am down to the deadline for writing my second blog post for August. When I started my blog 50+ posts ago, I made it my goal to write two posts each month. So in spite of the vertigo that hit five days ago, this dizzy dame is going to post her second writing for August. I just realized that this is my first bout of vertigo since I started writing my blog. Now that is something to be thankful for since I used to get hit with it quite often.

The ear specialist I see for this condition tells me it is because I have “rocks in my head.”  I always suspected that was the case, but when a doctor tells you, it must be true. Actually, the condition is called “positional vertigo”, meaning that whenever I change position, I get dizzy.  Do you know how many times you change position in a typical day?  It seems that the inner ear has a small canal filled with fluid and tiny crystals (rocks in the head) and sometimes the crystals migrate outside the canal and make you feel disoriented and “dizzy.”

A treatment called “Vestibular Rehabilitation” works to coax the crystals back into the ear canal where they belong. It consists of certain eye movements and exercises that can make you feel nauseous when you do them, but it you grin and bear it long enough, will help to restore balance. So on this absolutely picture perfect Labor Day weekend, when the whole world is enjoying the last hurrah of summer, I am stuck inside trying to regain my balance. 

The good news is that since I can’t cook, I am enjoying lots of carry out items from local eateries. Yup, I still have an appetite for fast food. So this post will be short and sweet, so that I go back to my recliner and not move. Better days are ahead—and I pray they arrive soon.

Watching Paint Dry

When a person says “that’s like watching paint dry” – they mean some activity is very boring.  After an incredibly hectic month of having to be somewhere early every day, I am relishing the opportunity to be bored. And yes I am watching paint dry.

The finished basement of our condo is being repaired and painted. After three years of living in this house, we finally decided to turn our downstairs from a giant storage room into usable space. Somebody has to be home during the process, and since Charles is traveling—tag I’m it!!! 

This whole summer has been anything but relaxing and I have spent my time rushing from one activity to another and juggling a lot of balls. The good news is that I have been able to keep up the pace, and at my age                                                        and stage that is something to celebrate.

In approximately six weeks, our church will move into its new building. Since selling our former church to a student housing developer, our congregation has been meeting in an abandoned school. Everything has been packed away and stored except the basic necessities. And a lot of the church programs have been on hold.  I was asked to head the Organization Team with the responsibility of reactivating the church programs and ordering classroom furniture that we will need in the new building. So I feel like I am helping renovate the church while I watch my basement paint dry. When we began the basement renovation about six months ago, we had no idea that the effort would coincide with the church project. So there has been a lot of prayer for physical and mental strength to get it all done.

 

This past weekend, I attended a local Christian writers’ conference. It was a very welcome change of pace, and a reminder that everything in life has a purpose. I have put my book writing efforts on hold for now, but I am sure that at some point the events of this summer will become fodder for new stories.Writing this blog post reminded me of an account in the Bible when Jesus and his disciples were overwhelmed by the crowds that were pressing them for attention. And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while. For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.” (Mark 6:31)

Sometimes being secluded and watching “paint dry” is the best therapy there is.