Paranoia

I’m happy to report I made it through our taxes! We had to file with the IRS, Colorado, Ohio, and locally. I’m now suffering from wrist stiffness and form fatigue, but I’m confident I’ll make a full recovery.

Every year, even after obsessively checking and rechecking my work, I’m always afraid I missed one heinously important note or transposed two grossly significant numbers. It would almost be a relief to get audited just so that I could finally know. I’d prepare some tea and crumpets for the auditor, she would applaud my meticulously organized files from the past five years, we’d crack tax jokes, she’d kindly point out my errors but assure me how easy they are for anyone to make, we’d walk through the steps I need to take to ensure such a thing never happens again, and then we’d hug goodbye and I would sleep soundly that night.

That’s ‘Plan A’, anyway. ‘Plan B’ is to buy Turbo Tax next year.

Wellness

I've been able to pick up more hours at the library as a sub, which is great except for the fact that now I have hardly any time to bloggercise. But don't worry, I'm trying to rework the daily routine because I know how important blogging is for my health.

Speaking of health, Sam and I just had our cholesterol tested and despite our youth and vigor, apparently we both have room for improvement. Sam's LDL number was great, but he needs more of the good HDL. My HDL number was great, but my LDL is really high. However, after comparing numbers with almost everyone I work with, I have become a little suspicious of our results.

Turns out you're not supposed to eat anything for about 12 hours before having your blood drawn. Funny, because neither of our doctors - from two different clinics - mentioned this to us. Do you suppose eating a box of Mac-n-Cheese an hour before getting blood drawn might possibly skew the results? I think I want a re-do. In the meantime, at least I have the heart-healthy benefits of blogging back in my life.

The cancer antidote

My mom’s body is beginning to feel the heavy tax chemotherapy charges. The main side effects are super fatigue and deep body aching. To a lesser degree she also experiences brain fuzziness, shot phobia, and general apprehension about the future.

The good news is that she has found a miracle drug that seems to take the edge off of every imaginable symptom. It’s called my dad.

He’s been an amazing helper to my mom since the moment she discovered she had cancer. He has tended to her diligently and lovingly, like a man who’s only purpose in this world is to heal the woman he loves.

While trying to sleep a few nights ago my mom felt such pain in her legs that all she could do was writhe and moan. My dad began to massage her legs to ease the pain and sing to her to soothe her soul. If you’ve ever heard my dad sing, you know this gesture was done more out of love than talent. And it worked. The pain didn’t disappear, but my mom’s spirit was restored.

I do a lot of reflecting on life to try to make sure I don’t miss any big lessons or messages I’m meant to understand. As I try to interpret my mom’s illness, I keep wondering if one of the messages she’ll uncover is that she is worthy of being loved this profoundly.

Striking someone down with a life threatening illness might not seem like the most logical way to teach someone of her worth, but it sure has allowed for some great opportunities for my mom’s friends and family to show her love in new ways. My mom has given so much of herself throughout her life. Now it’s time for her to receive.

Statehood Confusion Update

I’m pleased to say I’m making progress from just a few days ago. I was reading an article that made a reference to Colorado, and I got that feeling of surprise deep in my brain wrinkles…similar to what I had just reported feeling toward mention of anything Ohio! I think this means the neurons are starting to fire.

This is not a paid endorsement

You know how they say smell is one of the most powerful memory evoking senses? I think taste has got to be a close second. (Well, technically we might only be able to taste that which we can smell, so maybe they’re one in the same. Anyway, not my point.) Last night Sam and I bought a pizza from Papa John’s for dinner and a tidal wave of memories washed over me.

Growing up in a small town I had less access to more culturally refined experiences such as museums and orchestras and fine dining. But once I went off to college, I began to sample some of life’s finer offerings….like Papa John’s pizza.

I can’t remember when I tasted my first bite of fluffy crust heaven and I couldn’t tell you where I was when I discovered that golden garlic dipping sauce, but Papa John’s endeared itself to me my freshman year and soon became one of my favorite indulgences. Coincidentally, this is exactly when I began to fall in love with my husband, Sam.

Sam and I both lived in cramped lodgings that year so whenever I think back to eating the pizza, I always picture us in some amazingly uncomfortable situation, like hunched over a pizza box on a dorm floor or balancing a pizza box on our laps in an unmade twin size bed. Plus we were usually trying to be quiet, which always made me giggle uncontrollably.

This combination of fervid happiness has indwelt itself in my brain. Now every time I eat Papa John’s pizza it tastes like falling in love. Yum!

The cancer dance

My mom had her first abdominal chemo treatment yesterday and so far all is well. She made sure to slosh the meds around with some professional hip swirls and periodic belly rotations. Die while I gyrate, mutant cells, die!

Deep freeze

What do you know?! It’s snowing in Cleveland…again. My monster shoveling biceps are still recovering from the huge storm that just passed, and well, here we are again.

Because it feels like it’s been snowing every other day, and because people keep saying I should be used to it since I’m from Colorado, I decided to do some research.

First of all, this article explains why I feel like the snow has not let up. As of three days ago, it had already snowed 21 days in the month of January. After getting snow on the 28th, the 29th, and now today, the 30th, we’re up to snowfall on 24 out of 30 days. So I guess I was wrong. It hasn’t been snowing every other day, it’s been….well, a lot more.

Then I looked up some snowfall averages. According to weatherbase.com, Colorado Springs usually sees about 42” of snow per year, 5” of which come in January. Cleveland usually ends up with 55” annually, with 12” falling in January. We can already see that in an average year one would experience more snow in Cleveland than in Colorado Springs. But this hasn’t been an average year. Nope, in January alone Cleveland has already seen 42” of snow! Add that to October, November, and December and it just gets absurd.

Ok, I feel better now. I can go back to enjoying the season knowing that I don’t have snow delusions or weather amnesia.