Mustering Inner Strength

I was looking forward to waking and feeling like a normal human being. But the fact is, I didn’t’ sleep all that well once more. I woke at least every hour to pee and then some. Plus, after about 2:30am I never fully returned to a deep sleep. I even contemplated getting up around 4am to get my morning underway. But as often happens, I finally fell back asleep about 30 minutes prior to my scheduled wake up time. Great! I woke at 5:29am worried that I might’ve over slept. I scurried to brush my teeth and gather my running clothes then headed down the stairs. I felt OK but certainly not as good as I had hoped. Exercise was a struggle. I still lacked the zip & energy that I normally possess. Plus, after each routine, I felt a little nauseous. Thankfully, it passed, and soon Ykrap and I were heading out the door for our walk. The morning air felt great slapping against my face. It was cloudy and the threat of rain lingered overhead. By the time I returned from my walk I felt OK, although I knew deep inside that the best thing for my physical condition would’ve been to stay home yet again and allow my body more time to rest. But just the thought of calling off on a Friday made me shudder inside. There was little chance, if any, of that happening. After a little PC time I delivered Mindy’s coffee. She asked how I felt. Again, I felt OK but still a little queasy and tired. I left her to her coffee and returned downstairs to meditate, stretch, and ready for my run. I left for my run just before 6:30am. As suspected, my buttocks still ached, and the entire run was a struggle. I finished, but wondered if I was doing the right thing. Inside, Mindy had my scrambled eggs ready and was soon ready to depart for work. Bella bounced back surprisingly well. She was up and smiling. I figured she’d be down another day, but she is a very resilient girl. I put Jacob on the bus around 8:03am and was well on my way to work by 8:10am. The work day wasn’t nearly as chaotic as it could’ve been but still busy just the same. I felt a bit queasy and slow all morning long but well enough to make it through my day. Come 1:30pm I grabbed my packed lunch, which consisted of cut veggies (celery, cucumbers, and tomatoes). I purposely didn’t cover them in any salad dressing whatsoever. I wanted them plain. They hit the spot, too. Aside from that, all I had was my fruit medley. My lunch seemed to give me the boost of energy that I needed. I felt great after lunch and actually feel my sense of humor and zeal for life coming back. Being sick sucks it out of me. I worked straight through until a little after 5:30pm. Mindy mentioned Rene being at the house and the two of them sharing some wine. Rene helped out by picking up Bella at Gloria’s and then getting Jacob off the bus. What a friend! She’s like that. The two of them were engrossed in girl talk when I got home. I walked Ykraps. We did some male bonding. Rene left soon after we returned. She wouldn’t be joining us at Barley’s. Mindy wanted to get there a little early with the sole purpose of getting home early. Originally, I was weary of committing to leaving early, but as 7pm approached and we were heading out the door I began to crash in a hurry. By the time we reached Barley’s I was tired to the point of no return. The energy burst I got after lunch was long gone. I tried being a trooper and ordered a Hoptopus. It took everything I had to drink it. It just didn’t’ taste good to my palette. Mindy ordered food. My appetite was gone too. I dared myself to order a second beer, a Pale Ale. It went down equally as hard. I sipped it slowly all the while Mindy ate. We visited with many friends. Mindy’s nephew Joe and his friend Chris joined us, too. Later, my buddy Tommy Clark showed up just after I told Mindy that I wanted to depart. Not wanting to be a party pooper, I stayed as long as I could, chatting with a number of folks. But I was feeling worse by the minute. Just before 9pm we asked for our check and hit the road. We were in our pajamas and heading towards bed by 9:15pm. I joked with Mindy that she better not tell any of my friends about this.